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Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was recorded telling his UK-based partner how they'd be finished and in deep trouble if he was found fit to stand trial on sex trafficking allegations later this year, a US district court has heard.

The audio were among in excess of 100 recorded calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith played during a lengthy mental competency proceeding this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team assert that he is battling cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to face trial alongside his partner and their purported middleman in October.

However, the prosecution argue their doctors determined his health has stabilized and that the conversations demonstrate he is incredibly preoccupied on being found not competent.

In further tapes, Jeffries is heard saying he is hoping for a good outcome, labeling being found fit as a disaster, and says to a physician: you must find me unfit, the Central Islip court was told.

Judicial Proceedings and Health Testimony

The conversations were taped last year while he was being evaluated for several months in a psychiatric facility at a federal prison in North Carolina to determine if he could restore fitness.

The 81-year-old had previously been found not competent in May but correctional authorities then stated in December that he was fit for trial subsequent to his treatment period.

Government attorneys told the judge Jeffries frequently protested life in jail and was recorded telling to Smith how horrible incarceration was, adding: so we must pull this off.

The Case

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

They have entered not guilty pleas the charges, which have a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Their detentions were prompted by an report that showed the trio had been at the core of a sophisticated operation sourcing young men for sex globally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after weighing the statements of six experts - forensic psychologists, psychiatrists and medical experts, including correctional physicians - who were cross-examined in court this week.

'Disinhibited' Behavior

Three medical witnesses for the defense, maintain that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the residual effects of a traumatic brain injury, probable Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries demonstrates socially inappropriate and improper behaviour, which is part of a range of symptoms.

Reported incidents include Jeffries calling the prosecutor's psychologist a cunning bitch, praising her hair, informing another expert his clothing was badly made, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, the court heard.

He was also heard in minute detail on around 20 recorded calls discussing his trips abroad for the coming months, notwithstanding having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors argue this shows his understanding that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled unfit and the charges were dropped.

In contrast, the defense's medical experts have a different view, saying it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his legal restrictions and the seriousness of the situation.

"There wasn't the expected reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is up against such serious allegations," stated one expert who reviewed Jeffries.

"Instead, his demeanor throughout the evaluation... was as if we were having lunch at his club. There was no sense of distress."

Conflicting Neurological Diagnoses

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

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the time 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 overall alcohol consumption had a major impact on his health.

Following the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began having visions, with one episode in 2019 where he was discovered in his underclothes, unable to move, in a neighbour's garden.

Doctors from a Federal Medical Center testified that Jeffries was competent after evaluating him over several months in custody.

They say his cognitive abilities were not consistent with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is brighter and more capable mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for competency," said one doctor.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the courtroom, was described as cheerful and rather personable during evaluations in prison, and was intentionally testing the limits, sometimes using familiar language.

They diagnosed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and indicated his performance on tests may have improved since 2023 from borderline or impaired to normal because of sobriety and better management of prescriptions during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Prompt Concerns

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