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One-time A&F CEO Mike Jeffries was heard on tape saying to his British partner that they were in serious trouble and in grave danger if he was deemed competent to stand trial on sex trafficking accusations this autumn, a federal court in NY has learned.

The taped conversations were part of more than 100 recorded calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith played during a lengthy mental competency hearing this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers assert that he is suffering with cognitive decline and late onset of the disease and is unfit to face trial next to his partner and their accused facilitator in October.

However, the prosecution say their doctors determined his condition has improved and that the calls show he is extremely focused on being ruled unfit.

In further recordings, Jeffries says he is hoping for a positive result, characterizing being deemed competent as a calamity, and instructs a physician: you better find me incompetent, the court heard.

Court Proceedings and Psychiatric Evidence

The recordings were made the previous year while he was being held for several months in a treatment center at a US prison in North Carolina to assess if he could recover his faculties.

The 81-year-old had previously been found legally unfit last May but correctional authorities then announced in December that he was fit for proceedings subsequent to his hospital stay.

Prosecutors advised the judge Jeffries frequently complained about life in jail and was heard describing to Smith how horrible incarceration was, adding: so we have to pull this off.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged middleman James Jacobson, 73, were accused with operating a international human trafficking and commercial sex operation in October 2024.

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

Their detentions were prompted by an exposé that revealed the three had been at the centre of a complex network recruiting men for sex around the world while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after considering the statements of multiple specialists - experts, specialists and brain specialists, including prison doctors - who were questioned in proceedings this week.

'Disinhibited' Behavior

Three defence experts, testify that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the lingering impact of a traumatic brain injury, suspected dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries demonstrates disinhibited and improper behaviour, which is part of a range of dementia symptoms.

Reported incidents include Jeffries calling the prosecution's psychologist a insult, complimenting her hair, informing another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a derogatory term, the court heard.

He was also heard in excruciating detail on approximately 20 recorded calls discussing his international travel plans for the coming months, even though having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

Prosecutors argue this indicates his understanding that he would be released if he was declared incompetent and the indictment were dropped.

Conversely, the defense's medical experts have a different view, saying it instead highlights that Jeffries has forgotten his conditions and the seriousness of the charges.

"I didn't see the normal reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such serious allegations," said one expert who assessed Jeffries.

"Rather, his demeanor during the evaluation... was as if we were having a meal at his country club. There was no indication of distress."

Conflicting Psychiatric Opinions

Reports indicated there is data that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration began in 2013, when tests showed brain shrinkage, which was accelerated by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 fall and his medical records showed he kept on drinking subsequent to being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical intake had a decisive influence on his condition.

After the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started hallucinating, with one incident in 2019 where he was discovered in his underwear, unable to move, in a nearby property.

Experts from a prison hospital stated that Jeffries was competent after assessing him over an extended period in the facility.

They contend his cognitive abilities did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an examination could be performed.

"Even given the deterioration that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is brighter and more capable intellectually than probably 95% of the patients that we evaluate for fitness," testified one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the court, was described as jovial and quite charismatic during meetings in prison, and was purposely being provocative, sometimes using disrespectful address.

They found Jeffries with slight deficits and said his performance on tests may have gotten better since 2023 from borderline or deficient to normal because of stopping drinking and improved treatment during his evaluation.

109 Prison Calls Raise Concerns

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