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Former Abercrombie & Fitch chief executive Mike Jeffries was taped informing his British partner how they'd be finished and in deep trouble if he was declared competent to go to trial on trafficking accusations this autumn, a New York federal court has learned.

The recordings were part of in excess of 100 phone calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith referred to during a multi-day mental competency hearing recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team assert that he is battling dementia and the onset of Alzheimer's and is not competent to face trial next to his partner and their alleged middleman in October.

However, prosecutors say their medical experts determined his mental state has stabilized and that the recordings show he is remarkably fixated on being found incompetent.

In additional recordings, Jeffries states he is hoping for a positive result, labeling being ruled able as a catastrophe, and tells a medical professional: you must rule me unfit, the judge learned.

Judicial Hearings and Medical Opinions

The conversations were made in the past year while he was being treated for a period of months in a treatment center at a federal prison in North Carolina to determine if he could regain fitness.

The octogenarian had in the past been deemed legally unfit in May but correctional authorities then declared in December that he was fit for proceedings following his hospital stay.

Government attorneys informed the court Jeffries often protested incarceration and was recorded describing to Smith how awful jail was, adding: so we must pull this off.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with running a global trafficking and prostitution enterprise in October 2024.

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

Their being taken into custody followed an exposé that showed the three had been at the centre of a complex scheme sourcing young men for sex around the world while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after reviewing the statements of several professionals - psychologists, doctors and brain specialists, including facility doctors - who were cross-examined in the courtroom during the hearing.

'Inappropriate' Conduct

A trio of defense witnesses, maintain that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the residual effects of a head injury, suspected a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries demonstrates unfiltered and improper behavior, which is consistent with a set of dementia symptoms.

Reported incidents are Jeffries calling the prosecution's expert witness a cunning bitch, complimenting her hair, informing another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, they say.

He was also taped in excruciating detail on about 20 jail conversations discussing his international travel plans for the next few months, notwithstanding having been on restricted movement since 2024.

"I don't want to go on trips without you," Jeffries was recorded saying to Smith from prison.

Prosecutors contend this indicates his awareness that he would regain his freedom if he was found unfit and the charges were dropped.

In contrast, the defense's medical experts counter, saying it instead points to that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the severity of the situation.

"There wasn't the expected affect that I would anticipate someone to have who is up against such severe charges," stated one forensic psychiatrist who evaluated Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his manner throughout the evaluation... was similar to we were having a meal at his country club. There was no sense of distress."

Opposing Neurological Assessments

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

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the time of the 2018 event and his records showed he kept on drinking subsequent to being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical alcohol consumption had a decisive influence on his health.

After the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and began having visions, with one incident in 2019 where he was located in his underclothes, immobile, in a nearby property.

Experts from a treatment facility testified that Jeffries was competent after assessing him over four months in custody.

They say his cognitive abilities did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an autopsy could be performed.

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

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the hearing, was described as cheerful and rather personable during interactions in prison, and was intentionally testing the limits, sometimes using informal language.

They found Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and suggested his results may have risen since 2023 from low or deficient to normal because of stopping drinking and better medication management during his confinement.

109 Recorded Conversations Raise Questions

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