Prison Phone Call Tapes Raise Questions Over Ex-Abercrombie Executive's Ability for Legal Case

Former Abercrombie & Fitch top executive Mike Jeffries was recorded informing his associate how they were in serious trouble and in grave danger if he was found able to stand trial on human trafficking accusations in the coming months, a New York federal court has been told.

The taped conversations were among more than 100 phone calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith cited during a lengthy fitness to stand trial proceeding this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers argue that he is battling dementia and the onset of the disease and is incapable to face trial alongside his partner and their alleged middleman in October.

Nevertheless, government lawyers contend their medical experts determined his mental state has stabilized and that the calls reveal he is incredibly preoccupied on being declared incompetent.

In other recordings, Jeffries states he is praying for a good outcome, describing being found fit as a calamity, and tells a doctor: you must declare me unfit, the judge heard.

Court Proceedings and Medical Evidence

The calls were recorded the previous year while he was being held for four months in a treatment center at a federal prison in North Carolina to determine if he could restore his faculties.

The elderly defendant had earlier been ruled not competent previously but facility staff then announced in December that he was able for proceedings subsequent to his hospital stay.

The prosecution advised the judge Jeffries often protested prison conditions and was caught on tape telling to Smith how horrible jail was, adding: that's why we have to pull this off.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their accused intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with orchestrating a international human trafficking and prostitution business in October 2024.

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

Their arrests were prompted by an report that showed the group had been at the centre of a complex scheme scouting young men for sex internationally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after reviewing the evidence of multiple specialists - forensic psychologists, psychiatrists and brain specialists, including prison doctors - who were cross-examined in the courtroom this week.

'Inappropriate' Behavior

Several defence experts, argue that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the lingering impact of a head injury, suspected Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

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

Instances are Jeffries referring to the prosecution's psychologist a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, they say.

He was also heard in great detail on about 20 jail conversations planning his international travel plans for the coming months, even though having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors argue this demonstrates his understanding that he would go free if he was ruled unfit and the case were dropped.

In contrast, the defense's expert witnesses counter, stating it instead underscores that Jeffries has forgotten his legal restrictions and the severity of the charges.

"There wasn't the appropriate emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is facing such severe charges," stated one forensic psychiatrist who reviewed Jeffries.

"Instead, his demeanor throughout the examination... was almost like we were having a chat at his home. There was no sense of distress."

Diverging Psychiatric Opinions

Evidence indicated there is information that Jeffries' decline commenced in 2013, when scans showed mild atrophy, which was accelerated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 event and his medical records showed he persisted in drinking following being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall intake had a significant effect on his health.

After the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and started hallucinating, with one incident in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, incapacitated, in a neighbor's yard.

Experts from a Federal Medical Center said that Jeffries was fit after evaluating him over four months in the facility.

They say his mental faculties 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 deterioration that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is brighter and more capable cognitively than probably 95% of the inmates that we test for competency," stated one expert.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the court, was described as cheerful and quite personable during interactions in prison, and was intentionally being provocative, on occasion using informal terms.

They found Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and said his testing scores may have gotten better since 2023 from low or impaired to typical because of abstinence from alcohol and better treatment during his confinement.

109 Prison Calls Raise Issues

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