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Ex- Abercrombie & Fitch top executive Mike Jeffries was taped informing his UK-based partner that they were finished and in grave danger if he was declared fit to go to trial on human trafficking charges in the coming months, a New York federal court has learned.

The audio were among over 100 phone calls between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith cited during a four-day legal competency proceeding recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers argue that he is coping with cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's and is unfit to be tried next to his partner and their accused intermediary in October.

In contrast, prosecutors argue their doctors found his condition has improved and that the conversations reveal he is incredibly focused on being found not competent.

In other audio clips, Jeffries states he is wishing for a positive result, describing being deemed competent as a calamity, and instructs a physician: you must declare me unfit, the judge heard.

Judicial Proceedings and Medical Opinions

The calls were taped the previous year while he was being held for a period of months in a psychiatric facility at a US prison in North Carolina to assess if he could regain competency.

The elderly defendant had in the past been deemed not competent last May but facility staff then stated in December that he was competent for trial subsequent to his hospital stay.

The prosecution informed the court Jeffries often protested prison conditions and was caught on tape describing to Smith how horrible prison was, adding: that's why we must make this work.

Background

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

They have pleaded not guilty the charges, which have a potential penalty of life in prison.

Their being taken into custody were prompted by an exposé that showed the three had been at the core of a elaborate scheme sourcing men for sex globally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the evidence of several professionals - experts, psychiatrists and brain specialists, including facility doctors - who were examined in court recently.

'Unrestrained' Behaviour

Several medical witnesses for the defense, maintain that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the residual effects of a brain trauma, suspected dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries demonstrates socially inappropriate and off-color behaviour, which is consistent with a spectrum of symptoms.

Reported incidents involve Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's psychologist a insult, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a midget, according to testimony.

He was also taped in minute detail on around 20 prison calls planning his travel itinerary for the next few months, notwithstanding having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors suggest this shows his understanding that he would go free if he was found unfit and the charges were dropped.

However, the defence's expert witnesses counter, saying it instead underscores that Jeffries has forgotten his conditions and the severity of the case.

"He lacked the expected emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is facing such serious allegations," said one doctor who reviewed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his demeanor throughout the assessment... was as if we were having a chat at his club. There was no indication of anxiety."

Diverging Medical Opinions

Reports indicated there is information that Jeffries' decline started in 2013, when imaging showed mild atrophy, which was exacerbated by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the moment of the 2018 event and his medical records showed he persisted in drinking subsequent to being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall alcohol consumption had a significant effect on his health.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and began hallucinating, with one event in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, incapacitated, in a nearby property.

Medical professionals from a prison hospital stated that Jeffries was able after evaluating him over an extended period in the facility.

They contend his cognitive abilities 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 experienced... he still is sharper and more capable cognitively than probably 95% of the individuals that we test for competency," stated one doctor.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the hearing, was reported to be cheerful and fairly charismatic during evaluations in the facility, and was intentionally pushing boundaries, sometimes using informal terms.

They diagnosed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and said his performance on tests may have improved since 2023 from low or impaired to normal because of stopping drinking and improved management of prescriptions during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Prompt Concerns

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