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One-time A&F CEO Mike Jeffries was heard on tape telling his UK-based partner how they were finished and in big trouble if he was deemed able to stand trial on trafficking allegations in the coming months, a New York federal court has heard.

The recordings were part of over 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith referred to during a four-day fitness to stand trial session this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team contend that he is coping with cognitive decline and late onset of the disease and is incapable to stand trial alongside his partner and their purported intermediary in October.

Nevertheless, the prosecution argue their health professionals determined his mental state has improved and that the conversations demonstrate he is incredibly fixated on being found not competent.

In other recordings, Jeffries says he is wishing for a favorable ruling, characterizing being deemed competent as a disaster, and tells a medical professional: you had better find me unfit, the Central Islip court was told.

Legal Proceedings and Health Opinions

The recordings were recorded in the past year while he was being treated for four months in a psychiatric facility at a correctional institution in North Carolina to assess if he could recover competency.

The elderly defendant had in the past been deemed not competent in May but correctional authorities then stated in December that he was able for proceedings following his evaluation.

The prosecution told the court Jeffries frequently griped about incarceration and was caught on tape describing to Smith how horrible jail was, remarking: which is why we got to succeed.

The Case

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

They have denied the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Their arrests followed an exposé that uncovered the group had been at the heart of a complex network sourcing men for sex internationally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after reviewing the evidence of six experts - experts, psychiatrists and neurologists, including correctional physicians - who were questioned in the courtroom during the hearing.

'Inappropriate' Behaviour

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

They stated that Jeffries demonstrates socially inappropriate and socially inappropriate conduct, which is symptomatic of a range of dementia symptoms.

Instances include Jeffries calling the prosecutor's expert witness a insult, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was badly made, and referring to his partner Smith as a dwarf, they say.

He was also recorded in excruciating detail on around 20 prison calls discussing his trips abroad for the coming 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 jail.

The prosecution contend this shows his understanding that he would be released if he was found incompetent and the indictment were dismissed.

In contrast, the defence's expert witnesses counter, stating it instead highlights that Jeffries has forgotten his legal restrictions and the seriousness of the situation.

"There wasn't the appropriate emotional response that I would anticipate someone to have who is up against such serious allegations," testified one doctor who assessed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his behavior during the examination... was almost like we were having a chat at his club. There was no sign of distress."

Diverging Medical Diagnoses

Reports indicated there is data that Jeffries' decline started in 2013, when scans showed reduction in volume, which was worsened by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 fall and his records showed he persisted in drinking subsequent to being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical intake had a significant effect on his health.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and started having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was discovered in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a nearby property.

Medical professionals from a Federal Medical Center testified that Jeffries was able after assessing him over several months in the facility.

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 reduction that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is sharper and more functioning intellectually than probably 95% of the individuals that we assess for competency," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, wearing a formal wear in the court, was reported to be jovial and rather charismatic during evaluations in the facility, and was purposely pushing boundaries, sometimes using familiar terms.

They diagnosed Jeffries with slight deficits and suggested his results may have risen since 2023 from low or impaired to typical because of stopping drinking and better management of prescriptions during his stay.

109 Recorded Conversations Prompt Issues

Key to determining competency is whether Jeffries understands the allegations against him, their consequences, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial