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One-time A&F chief executive Mike Jeffries was recorded informing his associate that they were in serious trouble and in big trouble if he was deemed fit to go to trial on sex trafficking accusations later this year, a federal court in NY has heard.

The audio were among in excess of 100 recorded calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith cited during a lengthy fitness to stand trial proceeding this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys assert that he is suffering with cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to be tried next to his partner and their alleged facilitator in October.

However, the prosecution say their doctors determined his mental state has gotten better and that the conversations reveal he is extremely fixated on being ruled incompetent.

In additional audio clips, Jeffries says he is praying for a good outcome, labeling being found fit as a calamity, and tells a medical professional: you must rule me incompetent, the Central Islip court learned.

Court Hearings and Medical Evidence

The recordings were recorded last year while he was being held for a period of months in a mental health unit at a US prison in North Carolina to determine if he could restore competency.

The elderly defendant had previously been found not competent in May but prison officials then stated in December that he was fit for proceedings subsequent to his hospital stay.

Government attorneys told the court Jeffries often protested life in jail and was recorded telling to Smith how horrible prison was, adding: so we must succeed.

Context

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

They have denied the allegations, which have a potential penalty of a life term.

Their being taken into custody followed an investigation that showed the group had been at the core of a elaborate operation scouting young men for sex globally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after reviewing the statements of multiple specialists - experts, psychiatrists and medical experts, including correctional physicians - who were questioned in court recently.

'Unrestrained' Behaviour

A trio of defense witnesses, maintain that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the lingering impact of a traumatic brain injury, suspected dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries demonstrates disinhibited and improper behavior, which is consistent with a set of cognitive symptoms.

Examples are Jeffries referring to the prosecution's expert witness a derogatory term, complimenting her hair, informing another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a midget, the court heard.

He was also heard in great detail on around 20 jail conversations talking about his international travel plans for the coming months, notwithstanding having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

The prosecution suggest this shows his recognition that he would be released if he was found unfit and the charges were dropped.

In contrast, the defense's medical experts counter, saying it instead highlights that Jeffries has forgotten his legal restrictions and the seriousness of the case.

"I didn't see the normal reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such grave allegations," said one forensic psychiatrist who reviewed Jeffries.

"Instead, his behavior during the examination... was similar to we were having a chat at his club. There was no indication of distress."

Opposing Medical Assessments

Reports indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' mental decline began in 2013, when tests showed brain shrinkage, which was accelerated by a incident in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the time of the 2018 event and his records showed he kept on drinking following being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general alcohol consumption had a significant effect on his health.

After the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began seeing things, with one incident in 2019 where he was located in his underclothes, unable to move, in a neighbour's garden.

Doctors from a treatment facility said that Jeffries was fit after evaluating him over several months in prison.

They say his cognitive abilities were not consistent with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an examination could be performed.

"Even given the deterioration that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is sharper and more functioning intellectually than probably 95% of the inmates that we assess for fitness," said one expert.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the hearing, was described as jovial and rather charismatic during meetings in the facility, and was purposely pushing boundaries, sometimes using informal language.

They diagnosed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and said his testing scores may have improved since 2023 from low or deficient to typical because of abstinence from alcohol and better medication management during his confinement.

109 Recorded Conversations Raise Questions

Key to determining fitness is whether Jeffries grasps the allegations against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial