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Former A&F top executive Mike Jeffries was recorded telling his UK-based partner how they'd be screwed and in deep trouble if he was found competent to stand trial on sex trafficking charges later this year, a federal court in NY has heard.

The taped conversations were among more than 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith referred to during a lengthy legal competency session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers assert that he is coping with dementia and the onset of Alzheimer's disease and is unfit to face trial alongside his partner and their purported intermediary in October.

In contrast, government lawyers say their doctors determined his health has improved and that the conversations demonstrate he is remarkably fixated on being ruled unfit.

In further recordings, Jeffries states he is hoping for a good outcome, describing being found fit as a disaster, and says to a medical professional: you must declare me incompetent, the court was told.

Legal Proceedings and Medical Testimony

The recordings were taped in the past year while he was being treated for a period of months in a psychiatric facility at a federal prison in North Carolina to assess if he could regain his faculties.

The octogenarian had previously been found not competent last May but prison officials then declared in December that he was competent for trial following his evaluation.

Prosecutors advised the court Jeffries repeatedly complained about incarceration and was caught on tape describing to Smith how horrible incarceration was, adding: so we got to make this work.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged go-between James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with operating a worldwide sex trafficking and commercial sex enterprise in October 2024.

They have denied the allegations, which carry a maximum sentence of a life term.

Their arrests came after an report that revealed the three had been at the core of a sophisticated scheme scouting individuals for sex internationally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after reviewing the evidence of several professionals - forensic psychologists, psychiatrists and medical experts, including prison doctors - who were cross-examined in the courtroom this week.

'Unrestrained' Behavior

Three defense witnesses, maintain that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the residual effects of a brain trauma, likely Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries exhibits disinhibited and socially inappropriate behavior, which is part of a set of cognitive symptoms.

Reported incidents are Jeffries calling the prosecutor's psychologist a insult, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, the court heard.

He was also taped in excruciating detail on around 20 recorded calls discussing his travel itinerary for the near future, even though having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

Prosecutors suggest this shows his understanding that he would be released if he was declared unfit and the indictment were dismissed.

Conversely, the defence's medical experts disagree, saying it instead highlights that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the seriousness of the charges.

"He lacked the normal reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is facing such serious charges," testified one expert who assessed Jeffries.

"Rather, his demeanor during the examination... was similar to we were having a chat at his club. There was no indication of anxiety."

Conflicting Neurological Diagnoses

Testimony indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration commenced in 2013, when imaging showed reduction in volume, which was worsened 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 subsequent to being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general drinking had a significant effect on his health.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and began seeing things, with one event in 2019 where he was discovered in his underclothes, immobile, in a neighbor's yard.

Medical professionals from a prison hospital stated that Jeffries was competent after assessing him over several months in prison.

They assert his intellectual functioning did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is sharper and more able cognitively than probably 95% of the patients that we test for competency," stated one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the court, was reported to be cheerful and fairly charismatic during interactions in prison, and was deliberately being provocative, sometimes using disrespectful address.

They diagnosed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and suggested his performance on tests may have improved since 2023 from borderline or deficient to normal because of abstinence from alcohol and better medication management during his evaluation.

109 Prison Calls Raise Issues

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