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One-time A&F top executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape informing his UK-based partner how they are screwed and in grave danger if he was found competent to stand trial on trafficking charges this autumn, a New York federal court has heard.

The taped conversations were included in over 100 phone calls between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith referred to during a multi-day mental competency session recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team assert that he is battling cognitive decline and late onset of the disease and is unfit to face trial next to his partner and their alleged middleman in October.

In contrast, the prosecution argue their doctors found his health has improved and that the recordings reveal he is remarkably fixated on being found incompetent.

In additional recordings, Jeffries states he is wishing for a positive result, characterizing being ruled able as a catastrophe, and tells a medical professional: you must find me unfit, the Central Islip court was told.

Court Process and Psychiatric Testimony

The recordings were taped in the past year while he was being treated for several months in a mental health unit at a federal prison in North Carolina to determine if he could recover his faculties.

The octogenarian had previously been found legally unfit previously but correctional authorities then declared in December that he was fit for proceedings subsequent to his hospital stay.

Government attorneys informed the judge Jeffries frequently complained about prison conditions and was recorded telling to Smith how horrible jail was, adding: which is why we have to make this work.

Background

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

They have pleaded not guilty the allegations, which could result in a potential penalty of a life term.

Their arrests came after an exposé that showed the group had been at the heart of a sophisticated scheme recruiting men for sex around the world while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after weighing the evidence of six experts - forensic psychologists, specialists and neurologists, including facility doctors - who were examined in the courtroom during the hearing.

'Unrestrained' Behaviour

A trio of defence experts, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the lingering impact of a head injury, suspected Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries exhibits socially inappropriate and off-color behaviour, which is part of a range of symptoms.

Instances include Jeffries calling the prosecutor's psychologist a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was badly made, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, the court heard.

He was also taped in minute detail on about 20 jail conversations discussing his travel itinerary for the next few months, even though having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

The prosecution suggest this shows his recognition that he would go free if he was found incompetent and the charges were dropped.

In contrast, the defense's expert witnesses counter, arguing it instead underscores that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the severity of the situation.

"There wasn't the appropriate emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is up against such grave charges," stated one doctor who reviewed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his demeanor during the examination... was similar to we were having lunch at his club. There was no indication of anxiety."

Diverging Neurological Diagnoses

Reports indicated there is information that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration started in 2013, when scans showed reduction in volume, which was worsened by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the time of the 2018 event and his medical records showed he kept on drinking after being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall intake had a significant effect on his state.

After the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and began seeing things, with one event in 2019 where he was found in his underwear, immobile, in a neighbour's garden.

Doctors from a Federal Medical Center testified that Jeffries was able after assessing him over four months in prison.

They assert his intellectual functioning did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is sharper and more functioning cognitively than probably 95% of the patients that we assess for competency," testified one doctor.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the hearing, was described as lighthearted and fairly engaging during evaluations in the facility, and was purposely pushing boundaries, at times using familiar address.

They found Jeffries with slight deficits and suggested his results may have risen since 2023 from borderline or deficient to normal because of stopping drinking and better treatment during his confinement.

109 Jail Recordings Present Concerns

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