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Former A&F chief executive Mike Jeffries was recorded saying to his British partner how they are screwed and in deep trouble if he was declared competent to face trial on human trafficking charges in the coming months, a US district court has heard.

The recordings were part of in excess of 100 phone calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith played during a four-day fitness to stand trial session recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys argue that he is suffering with dementia and the onset of Alzheimer's disease and is incapable to stand trial next to his partner and their purported intermediary in October.

However, prosecutors argue their health professionals concluded his condition has improved and that the conversations demonstrate he is extremely focused on being found not competent.

In additional tapes, Jeffries says he is praying for a positive result, characterizing being found fit as a disaster, and instructs a physician: you must find me incompetent, the court heard.

Court Process and Medical Opinions

The conversations were made the previous year while he was being evaluated for several months in a psychiatric facility at a correctional institution in North Carolina to see if he could regain fitness.

The elderly defendant had in the past been deemed not competent previously but correctional authorities then stated in December that he was fit for trial subsequent to his evaluation.

Government attorneys advised the judge Jeffries repeatedly protested life in jail and was recorded telling to Smith how terrible prison was, remarking: that's why we have to succeed.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were accused with orchestrating a worldwide sex trafficking and prostitution operation in October 2024.

They have denied the accusations, which could result in a potential penalty of a life term.

Their detentions came after an investigation that revealed the trio had been at the core of a elaborate scheme scouting men for sex globally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the testimony of multiple specialists - psychologists, psychiatrists and medical experts, including correctional physicians - who were examined in proceedings recently.

'Unrestrained' Conduct

A trio of medical witnesses for the defense, testify that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the after-effects of a traumatic brain injury, probable Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

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

Examples include Jeffries calling the prosecution's expert witness a cunning bitch, praising her hair, informing another expert his clothing was badly made, and referring to his partner Smith as a midget, the court heard.

He was also heard in great detail on around 20 jail conversations discussing his trips abroad for the coming months, even though having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

The prosecution suggest this indicates his recognition that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled incompetent and the charges were dismissed.

In contrast, the defense's medical experts have a different view, arguing it instead points to that Jeffries has forgotten his court-ordered limits and the seriousness of the situation.

"There wasn't the appropriate emotional response that I would anticipate someone to have who is facing such serious charges," stated one expert who evaluated Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his manner throughout the assessment... was almost like we were having a chat at his home. There was no indication of anxiety."

Diverging Psychiatric Diagnoses

Evidence indicated there is data that Jeffries' mental decline commenced in 2013, when tests showed reduction in volume, which was worsened by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the moment of the 2018 event and his history showed he kept on drinking following being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general drinking had a decisive influence on his condition.

Following the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started seeing things, with one episode in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, immobile, in a nearby property.

Doctors from a treatment facility testified that Jeffries was able after evaluating him over four months in prison.

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

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is more capable and more capable cognitively than probably 95% of the inmates that we assess for fitness," said one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a suit and tie in the court, was reported to be lighthearted and quite personable during meetings in the facility, and was purposely testing the limits, on occasion using informal language.

They assessed Jeffries with slight deficits and said his testing scores may have gotten better since 2023 from borderline or impaired to typical because of sobriety and more consistent treatment during his confinement.

109 Prison Calls Raise Concerns

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