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One-time the fashion retailer top executive Mike Jeffries was recorded saying to his UK-based partner that they were screwed and in big trouble if he was declared able to go to trial on sex trafficking accusations later this year, a New York federal court has been told.

The audio were part of in excess of 100 telephone conversations between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith cited during a multi-day legal competency hearing recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team assert that he is suffering with cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's and is unfit to face trial alongside his partner and their accused middleman in October.

Nevertheless, prosecutors argue their doctors determined his mental state has gotten better and that the calls reveal he is extremely fixated on being ruled unfit.

In other audio clips, Jeffries is heard saying he is hoping for a positive result, characterizing being deemed competent as a calamity, and instructs a medical professional: you must rule me incompetent, the Central Islip court was told.

Legal Process and Psychiatric Opinions

The recordings were taped in the past year while he was being evaluated for several months in a psychiatric facility at a correctional institution in North Carolina to see if he could regain competency.

The 81-year-old had earlier been ruled legally unfit previously but prison officials then stated in December that he was able for proceedings subsequent to his evaluation.

The prosecution informed the court Jeffries frequently protested prison conditions and was heard explaining to Smith how awful prison was, remarking: which is why we got to succeed.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were charged with operating a worldwide sex trafficking and prostitution operation in October 2024.

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

Their being taken into custody were prompted by an investigation that showed the group had been at the heart of a sophisticated scheme recruiting young men for sex globally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after considering the evidence of six experts - forensic psychologists, specialists and medical experts, including correctional physicians - who were examined in court during the hearing.

'Unrestrained' Conduct

A trio of medical witnesses for the defense, maintain that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the after-effects of a brain trauma, probable a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries shows unfiltered and off-color conduct, which is part of a spectrum of cognitive symptoms.

Instances are Jeffries referring to the prosecution's expert witness a insult, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was badly made, and describing his partner Smith as a derogatory term, the court heard.

He was also heard in excruciating detail on around 20 jail conversations planning his trips abroad for the next few months, notwithstanding having been on restricted movement since 2024.

"I can't go on trips without you," Jeffries was heard saying to Smith from prison.

The prosecution suggest this indicates his recognition that he would go free if he was ruled unfit and the case were dropped.

Conversely, the defence's medical experts disagree, stating it instead underscores that Jeffries does not remember his legal restrictions and the seriousness of the case.

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

"Rather, his demeanor throughout the assessment... was as if we were having lunch at his country club. There was no indication of distress."

Diverging Neurological Assessments

Testimony indicated there is data that Jeffries' decline commenced 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 event and his medical records showed he persisted in drinking following being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall intake had a decisive influence on his condition.

Following the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started seeing things, with one event in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, unable to move, in a neighbour's garden.

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

They assert his mental faculties were not consistent with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is more capable and more functioning intellectually than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for competency," said one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the courtroom, was described as jovial and fairly engaging during interactions in prison, and was intentionally being provocative, on occasion using disrespectful address.

They assessed Jeffries with slight deficits and suggested his results may have improved since 2023 from low or impaired to normal because of stopping drinking and better medication management during his evaluation.

109 Jail Recordings Prompt Questions

Key to assessing fitness is whether Jeffries comprehends the allegations against him, their consequences, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial