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Ex- A&F CEO Mike Jeffries was taped saying to his British partner that they were screwed and in deep trouble if he was deemed competent to face trial on sex trafficking charges later this year, a federal court in NY has heard.

The recordings were included in more than 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith cited during a multi-day mental competency hearing on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys assert that he is suffering with dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's and is unfit to be tried next to his partner and their accused facilitator in October.

However, prosecutors contend their doctors concluded his condition has improved and that the calls demonstrate he is incredibly preoccupied on being ruled unfit.

In additional tapes, Jeffries states he is praying for a favorable ruling, characterizing being deemed competent as a disaster, and says to a physician: you better find me incompetent, the Central Islip court was told.

Court Proceedings and Medical Evidence

The calls were recorded in the past year while he was being treated for a period of months in a mental health unit at a correctional institution in North Carolina to assess if he could recover fitness.

The 81-year-old had earlier been ruled not competent in May but correctional authorities then declared in December that he was able for proceedings following his hospital stay.

Prosecutors informed the judge Jeffries repeatedly protested life in jail and was caught on tape explaining to Smith how awful jail was, stating: which is why we must make this work.

Background

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

They have entered not guilty pleas the accusations, which carry a potential penalty of life in prison.

Their detentions were prompted by an report that revealed the three had been at the heart of a elaborate operation sourcing men for sex around the world while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the statements of multiple specialists - psychologists, doctors and neurologists, including prison doctors - who were cross-examined in court this week.

'Unrestrained' Behaviour

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

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

Instances include Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's professional psychologist a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, the court heard.

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

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

The prosecution suggest this indicates his understanding that he would be released if he was found incompetent and the case were dismissed.

Conversely, the defence's expert witnesses have a different view, stating it instead underscores that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the gravity of the charges.

"I didn't see the appropriate emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such serious charges," said one doctor who evaluated Jeffries.

"Instead, his behavior during the assessment... was almost like we were having lunch at his club. There was no sense of distress."

Conflicting Neurological Opinions

Testimony indicated there is information that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration started in 2013, when imaging showed reduction in volume, which was accelerated by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the time of the 2018 fall and his medical records showed he continued drinking following being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical drinking had a significant effect on his state.

Following the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and began having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was found in his underclothes, unable to move, in a nearby property.

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

They assert his intellectual functioning 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 declines that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is sharper and more able cognitively than probably 95% of the patients that we test for competency," stated one doctor.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the courtroom, was described as lighthearted and rather charismatic during meetings in the facility, and was deliberately pushing boundaries, sometimes using disrespectful terms.

They assessed Jeffries with slight deficits and suggested his results may have gotten better since 2023 from borderline or deficient to normal because of abstinence from alcohol and improved management of prescriptions during his stay.

109 Prison Calls Prompt Concerns

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