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Ex- A&F CEO Mike Jeffries was taped telling his associate that they'd be screwed and in grave danger if he was found fit to face trial on trafficking charges this autumn, a federal court in NY has heard.

The audio were included in over 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith cited during a multi-day fitness to stand trial proceeding this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys argue that he is coping with dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to stand trial alongside his partner and their accused middleman in October.

Nevertheless, government lawyers contend their doctors found his condition has improved and that the calls reveal he is extremely fixated on being found incompetent.

In further recordings, Jeffries says he is wishing for a good outcome, labeling being found fit as a disaster, and instructs a doctor: you better declare me unfit, the judge learned.

Judicial Hearings and Health Opinions

The conversations were made last year while he was being evaluated for several months in a mental health unit at a US prison in North Carolina to see if he could recover his faculties.

The octogenarian had in the past been deemed not competent previously but correctional authorities then announced in December that he was fit for trial following his evaluation.

Government attorneys told the judge Jeffries frequently griped about life in jail and was recorded telling to Smith how awful prison was, stating: that's why we got to make this work.

Background

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

They have pleaded not guilty the accusations, which could result in a potential penalty of a life term.

Their arrests followed an report that revealed the trio had been at the centre of a complex scheme scouting men for sex around the world while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after weighing the statements of multiple specialists - psychologists, doctors and neurologists, including facility doctors - who were cross-examined in the courtroom this week.

'Inappropriate' Conduct

A trio of defense witnesses, maintain that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the residual effects of a brain trauma, probable dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries exhibits unfiltered and improper behaviour, which is symptomatic of a range of cognitive symptoms.

Reported incidents involve Jeffries calling the prosecutor's psychologist a insult, praising her hair, informing another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a derogatory term, the court heard.

He was also taped in great detail on approximately 20 recorded calls discussing his trips abroad for the next few months, even though having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors suggest this demonstrates his recognition that he would be released if he was found unfit and the charges were dropped.

Conversely, the defence's witnesses have a different view, arguing it instead underscores that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the gravity of the situation.

"He lacked the appropriate reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is facing such severe allegations," said one doctor who reviewed Jeffries.

"Instead, his manner throughout the examination... was as if we were having lunch at his country club. There was no indication of anxiety."

Opposing Psychiatric Opinions

Reports indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' mental decline began in 2013, when imaging showed reduction in volume, which was accelerated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 fall and his medical records showed he kept on drinking subsequent to being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical drinking had a significant effect on his condition.

Following the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and began having visions, with one incident in 2019 where he was located in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a neighbour's garden.

Experts from a treatment facility stated that Jeffries was able after evaluating him over several months in custody.

They say his cognitive abilities did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is brighter and more capable mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for fitness," testified one expert.

Jeffries, dressed in a formal wear in the hearing, was described as lighthearted and rather charismatic during meetings in prison, and was deliberately being provocative, on occasion using familiar language.

They diagnosed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and said his testing scores may have gotten better since 2023 from borderline or deficient to typical because of sobriety and improved medication management during his confinement.

109 Jail Recordings Present Questions

Fundamental to assessing competency is whether Jeffries understands the allegations against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial