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Former A&F chief executive Mike Jeffries was taped informing his UK-based partner that they are screwed and in deep trouble if he was found able to stand trial on trafficking charges later this year, a US district court has learned.

The audio were part of more than 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a four-day fitness to stand trial proceeding on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers argue that he is suffering with cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's and is not competent to stand trial alongside his partner and their accused intermediary in October.

Nevertheless, prosecutors argue their health professionals concluded his mental state has stabilized and that the conversations reveal he is extremely fixated on being declared incompetent.

In additional audio clips, Jeffries states he is hoping for a positive result, characterizing being ruled able as a calamity, and tells a medical professional: you must rule me unfit, the court was told.

Judicial Proceedings and Health Opinions

The calls were recorded last year while he was being evaluated for a period of months in a treatment center at a federal prison in North Carolina to assess if he could restore competency.

The elderly defendant had earlier been ruled legally unfit last May but facility staff then declared in December that he was able for trial subsequent to his hospital stay.

Prosecutors informed the court Jeffries often complained about life in jail and was recorded describing to Smith how horrible prison was, adding: that's why we must pull this off.

Context

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

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

Their detentions followed an investigation that uncovered the trio had been at the heart of a elaborate operation sourcing individuals for sex internationally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after weighing the statements of several professionals - psychologists, doctors and brain specialists, including prison doctors - who were questioned in proceedings this week.

'Disinhibited' Conduct

Three defense witnesses, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the after-effects of a brain trauma, probable dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries shows unfiltered and socially inappropriate behavior, which is part of a range of cognitive symptoms.

Instances are Jeffries calling the prosecution's professional psychologist a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, according to testimony.

He was also heard in great detail on around 20 jail conversations planning his international travel plans for the next few months, notwithstanding having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

Prosecutors contend this shows his recognition that he would be released if he was declared incompetent and the charges were dropped.

Conversely, the defence's medical experts disagree, saying it instead points to that Jeffries has forgotten his conditions and the severity of the situation.

"He lacked the expected emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such severe allegations," said one expert who evaluated Jeffries.

"Instead, his behavior throughout the examination... was as if we were having a meal at his home. There was no sense of distress."

Conflicting Medical Assessments

Testimony indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' mental decline commenced in 2013, when tests showed brain shrinkage, which was exacerbated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the moment of the 2018 incident and his records showed he persisted in drinking subsequent to being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general drinking had a significant effect on his state.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started seeing things, with one incident in 2019 where he was discovered in his underclothes, unable to move, in a neighbor's yard.

Experts from a prison hospital stated that Jeffries was competent after evaluating him over four months in the facility.

They say his cognitive abilities 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 more capable and more able intellectually than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for fitness," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the courtroom, was described as cheerful and rather personable during interactions in the facility, and was intentionally being provocative, sometimes using familiar language.

They found Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and indicated his results may have improved since 2023 from low or deficient to typical because of abstinence from alcohol and more consistent management of prescriptions during his evaluation.

109 Prison Calls Prompt Issues

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