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Former A&F CEO Mike Jeffries was taped saying to his British partner how they'd be in serious trouble and in big trouble if he was deemed fit to go to trial on human trafficking accusations this autumn, a federal court in NY has heard.

The recordings were included in in excess of 100 phone calls between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith cited during a multi-day mental competency hearing this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys contend that he is battling cognitive decline and late onset of Alzheimer's disease and is not competent to stand trial next to his partner and their accused facilitator in October.

However, the prosecution contend their doctors found his condition has stabilized and that the calls show he is incredibly preoccupied on being ruled unfit.

In further tapes, Jeffries says he is hoping for a good outcome, labeling being deemed competent as a catastrophe, and tells a medical professional: you must rule me unfit, the court heard.

Legal Hearings and Medical Evidence

The calls were recorded the previous year while he was being held for several months in a mental health unit at a federal prison in North Carolina to see if he could restore his faculties.

The elderly defendant had in the past been deemed legally unfit last May but prison officials then stated in December that he was competent for trial following his hospital stay.

The prosecution informed the court Jeffries frequently complained about prison conditions and was caught on tape describing to Smith how awful incarceration was, remarking: which is why we have to succeed.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported middleman James Jacobson, 73, were accused with operating a worldwide sex trafficking and prostitution business in October 2024.

They have pleaded not guilty the charges, which could result in a maximum sentence of a life term.

Their arrests came after an report that showed the three had been at the heart of a elaborate operation recruiting men for sex around the world while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after weighing the statements of six experts - forensic psychologists, psychiatrists and brain specialists, including prison doctors - who were questioned in court during the hearing.

'Inappropriate' Behaviour

Three defence experts, maintain that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the residual effects of a brain trauma, suspected a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries exhibits disinhibited and improper behavior, which is symptomatic of a spectrum of dementia symptoms.

Instances involve Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's psychologist a insult, praising her hair, telling another expert his clothing was badly made, and describing his partner Smith as a midget, they say.

He was also heard in great detail on about 20 recorded calls discussing his travel itinerary for the next few months, even though having been on restricted movement since 2024.

"I wouldn't want to go on trips without you," Jeffries was overheard telling Smith from incarceration.

Prosecutors argue this indicates his understanding that he would go free if he was ruled unfit and the charges were dismissed.

Conversely, the defense's expert witnesses disagree, saying it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the seriousness of the charges.

"I didn't see the expected emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is up against such serious charges," stated one forensic psychiatrist who evaluated Jeffries.

"Instead, his demeanor throughout the examination... was as if we were having a meal at his home. There was no sign of alarm."

Diverging Medical Assessments

Reports indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' decline commenced in 2013, when imaging showed reduction in volume, which was worsened by a incident in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 incident and his medical records showed he kept on drinking following being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general intake had a decisive influence on his health.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started seeing things, with one episode in 2019 where he was discovered in his underwear, immobile, in a nearby property.

Doctors from a prison hospital said that Jeffries was fit after assessing him over four months in custody.

They assert his intellectual functioning were not consistent with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the deterioration that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is more capable and more capable intellectually than probably 95% of the patients that we assess for competency," said one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, wearing a suit and tie in the court, was reported to be lighthearted and rather personable during evaluations in the facility, and was deliberately testing the limits, sometimes using disrespectful address.

They found Jeffries with slight deficits and suggested his testing scores may have risen since 2023 from low or impaired to typical because of sobriety and more consistent management of prescriptions during his evaluation.

109 Jail Recordings Raise Concerns

Key to assessing competency is whether Jeffries understands the charges against him, their implications, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial