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Ex- A&F CEO Mike Jeffries was recorded saying to his UK-based partner that they are finished and in deep trouble if he was deemed able to stand trial on sex trafficking accusations in the coming months, a New York federal court has learned.

The taped conversations were among over 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a four-day fitness to stand trial session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team contend that he is suffering with cognitive decline and late onset of Alzheimer's and is unfit to be tried alongside his partner and their alleged intermediary in October.

Nevertheless, government lawyers say their health professionals determined his condition has improved and that the recordings reveal he is incredibly preoccupied on being declared not competent.

In further recordings, Jeffries says he is praying for a good outcome, characterizing being found fit as a disaster, and instructs a doctor: you must rule me incompetent, the Central Islip court learned.

Court Proceedings and Psychiatric Evidence

The calls were made in the past year while he was being evaluated for a period of months in a treatment center at a US prison in North Carolina to assess if he could recover competency.

The 81-year-old had previously been found legally unfit previously but facility staff then stated in December that he was fit for proceedings after his evaluation.

Prosecutors advised the judge Jeffries frequently griped about prison conditions and was heard explaining to Smith how horrible prison was, adding: that's why we got to pull this off.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged middleman James Jacobson, 73, were accused with operating a international human trafficking and commercial sex enterprise in October 2024.

They have entered not guilty pleas the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Their detentions were prompted by an exposé that revealed the trio had been at the core of a elaborate network scouting young men for sex internationally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after considering the statements of several professionals - psychologists, doctors and medical experts, including correctional physicians - who were examined in the courtroom recently.

'Disinhibited' Behaviour

A trio of medical witnesses for the defense, maintain that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the lingering impact of a brain trauma, likely dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries shows unfiltered and socially inappropriate behavior, which is part of a set of dementia symptoms.

Reported incidents include Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's expert witness a insult, praising her hair, telling another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a derogatory term, according to testimony.

He was also taped in minute detail on around 20 recorded calls planning his travel itinerary for the coming months, despite having been on restricted movement since 2024.

"I can't go on trips without you," Jeffries was heard telling Smith from jail.

The prosecution argue this indicates his understanding that he would regain his freedom if he was found incompetent and the case were dropped.

However, the defence's witnesses counter, stating it instead points to that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the severity of the situation.

"He lacked the normal affect that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such severe allegations," said one expert who evaluated Jeffries.

"Instead, his manner during the examination... was similar to we were having a chat at his home. There was no sign of distress."

Conflicting Psychiatric Diagnoses

Testimony indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' decline began in 2013, when tests showed reduction in volume, which was worsened by a incident in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the time of the 2018 incident and his records showed he kept on drinking following being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical drinking had a decisive influence on his state.

After the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, incapacitated, in a nearby property.

Doctors from a prison hospital testified that Jeffries was able after observing him over several months in the facility.

They say his mental faculties were not consistent with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an examination could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is sharper and more capable mentally than probably 95% of the inmates that we evaluate for competency," stated one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the courtroom, was reported to be jovial and quite charismatic during evaluations in prison, and was purposely being provocative, sometimes using disrespectful address.

They diagnosed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and said his performance on tests may have risen since 2023 from borderline or impaired to normal because of stopping drinking and more consistent management of prescriptions during his stay.

109 Prison Calls Raise Concerns

Fundamental to establishing competency is whether Jeffries comprehends the charges against him, their consequences, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial