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Former the fashion retailer CEO Mike Jeffries was heard on tape informing his British partner how they were screwed and in deep trouble if he was declared able to go to trial on trafficking charges later this year, a US district court has been told.

The audio were part of over 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a multi-day legal competency hearing on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team assert that he is suffering with cognitive decline and the onset of the disease and is not competent to face trial alongside his partner and their purported facilitator in October.

However, the prosecution say their health professionals determined his mental state has stabilized and that the recordings show he is incredibly focused on being declared unfit.

In further tapes, Jeffries is heard saying he is wishing for a good outcome, describing being ruled able as a calamity, and instructs a physician: you must find me unfit, the Central Islip court heard.

Legal Process and Health Evidence

The calls were taped in the past year while he was being held 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 elderly defendant had previously been found not competent last May but facility staff then stated in December that he was fit for trial following his hospital stay.

Prosecutors informed the court Jeffries repeatedly griped about life in jail and was caught on tape describing to Smith how horrible jail was, stating: that's why we must make this work.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were charged with orchestrating a international sex trafficking and commercial sex enterprise in October 2024.

They have pleaded not guilty the charges, which have a maximum sentence of a life term.

Their detentions were prompted by an investigation that showed the three had been at the heart of a elaborate network sourcing individuals for sex around the world while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the evidence of several professionals - psychologists, psychiatrists and medical experts, including correctional physicians - who were questioned in court during the hearing.

'Inappropriate' Behaviour

A trio of defense witnesses, testify that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the after-effects of a head injury, suspected Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries demonstrates unfiltered and improper behaviour, which is part of a spectrum of symptoms.

Examples are Jeffries calling the prosecution's psychologist a derogatory term, praising her hair, informing another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a derogatory term, according to testimony.

He was also taped in excruciating detail on about 20 jail conversations discussing his travel itinerary for the near future, even though having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors contend this indicates his understanding that he would go free if he was declared unfit and the charges were dropped.

Conversely, the defence's witnesses have a different view, stating it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his legal restrictions and the severity of the case.

"He lacked the expected emotional response that I would anticipate someone to have who is up against such severe allegations," stated one doctor who reviewed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his demeanor during the assessment... was as if we were having a meal at his home. There was no sense of anxiety."

Diverging Medical Diagnoses

Testimony indicated there is data that Jeffries' decline began in 2013, when scans showed brain shrinkage, which was worsened by a accident in 2018.

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

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

Medical professionals from a prison hospital said that Jeffries was able after observing him over several months in custody.

They say his mental faculties did not match 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 undergone... he still is brighter and more functioning mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for competency," said one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the court, was reported to be lighthearted and rather engaging during meetings in prison, and was intentionally pushing boundaries, at times using familiar language.

They assessed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and said his performance on tests may have improved since 2023 from borderline or deficient to normal because of abstinence from alcohol and more consistent management of prescriptions during his stay.

109 Prison Calls Prompt Questions

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