Prison Phone Call Audio Raise Questions About Ex-Abercrombie Executive's Competency for Court Proceedings

One-time the fashion retailer chief executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape informing his British partner how they'd be finished and in grave danger if he was declared fit to go to trial on trafficking accusations in the coming months, a New York federal court has heard.

The audio were among over 100 recorded calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith referred to during a four-day fitness to stand trial hearing this week on Long Island.

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

Nevertheless, the prosecution contend their health professionals determined his mental state has gotten better and that the recordings reveal he is extremely fixated on being ruled not competent.

In other recordings, Jeffries states he is wishing for a favorable ruling, labeling being deemed competent as a disaster, and instructs a physician: you must find me unfit, the judge learned.

Court Process and Medical Evidence

The recordings were made last year while he was being treated for four months in a mental health unit at a correctional institution in North Carolina to determine if he could restore his faculties.

The elderly defendant had earlier been ruled mentally incompetent last May but facility staff then stated in December that he was competent for proceedings after his treatment period.

Government attorneys advised the court Jeffries often complained about incarceration and was recorded telling to Smith how horrible prison was, remarking: that's why we must succeed.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported go-between James Jacobson, 73, were charged with running a global sex trafficking and commercial sex enterprise in October 2024.

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

Their arrests came after an report that uncovered the group had been at the centre of a complex network recruiting young men for sex globally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after reviewing the testimony of multiple specialists - forensic psychologists, doctors and neurologists, including correctional physicians - who were cross-examined in the courtroom recently.

'Disinhibited' Behaviour

A trio of medical witnesses for the defense, testify that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the lingering impact of a brain trauma, probable a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries shows disinhibited and off-color conduct, which is symptomatic of a spectrum of dementia symptoms.

Instances are Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's expert witness a insult, complimenting her hair, informing another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and referring to his partner Smith as a midget, they say.

He was also heard in great detail on about 20 recorded calls planning his trips abroad for the coming months, notwithstanding having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

The prosecution contend this demonstrates his awareness that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled unfit and the case were dismissed.

However, the defense's witnesses have a different view, saying it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the gravity of the situation.

"He lacked the normal emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such serious charges," testified one doctor who assessed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his manner throughout the assessment... was as if we were having a chat at his home. There was no sign of distress."

Diverging Medical Assessments

Evidence indicated there is information that Jeffries' mental decline started in 2013, when scans showed brain shrinkage, which was exacerbated by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 incident and his records showed he persisted in drinking following being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general intake had a major impact on his condition.

After the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and began seeing things, with one event in 2019 where he was found in his underwear, unable to move, in a neighbour's garden.

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

They assert his mental faculties did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an examination could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is brighter and more functioning cognitively than probably 95% of the patients that we test for competency," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the courtroom, was reported to be lighthearted and quite personable during evaluations in prison, and was intentionally testing the limits, on occasion using informal address.

They found Jeffries with slight deficits and said his results may have improved since 2023 from borderline or impaired to average because of stopping drinking and better treatment during his confinement.

109 Jail Recordings Present Issues

Fundamental to assessing fitness is whether Jeffries comprehends the allegations against him, their consequences, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial