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Former A&F top executive Mike Jeffries was taped informing his associate how they'd be screwed and in deep trouble if he was deemed fit to stand trial on sex trafficking allegations later this year, a New York federal court has learned.

The recordings were among in excess of 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a lengthy fitness to stand trial hearing on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys contend that he is suffering with cognitive decline and late onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to stand trial alongside his partner and their alleged middleman in October.

However, prosecutors argue their health professionals concluded his condition has improved and that the calls reveal he is extremely focused on being declared unfit.

In other audio clips, Jeffries is heard saying he is praying for a positive result, labeling being found fit as a calamity, and says to a medical professional: you better find me unfit, the court heard.

Court Proceedings and Psychiatric Evidence

The conversations were made last year while he was being treated for several months in a mental health unit at a US prison in North Carolina to see if he could restore fitness.

The 81-year-old had in the past been deemed not competent previously but facility staff then announced in December that he was fit for trial following his evaluation.

The prosecution advised the court Jeffries frequently complained about incarceration and was recorded describing to Smith how horrible incarceration was, remarking: so we have to succeed.

Context

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

They have pleaded not guilty the allegations, which carry a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

Their detentions came after an investigation that revealed the trio had been at the heart of a complex scheme recruiting men for sex internationally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after reviewing the testimony of multiple specialists - experts, psychiatrists and medical experts, including facility doctors - who were examined in proceedings recently.

'Unrestrained' Behavior

A trio of defence experts, maintain that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the lingering impact of a traumatic brain injury, suspected a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries demonstrates unfiltered and socially inappropriate behaviour, which is consistent with a range of symptoms.

Reported incidents involve Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's expert witness a insult, complimenting her hair, informing another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, they say.

He was also recorded in minute detail on approximately 20 recorded calls talking about his trips abroad for the next few months, notwithstanding having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

Prosecutors suggest this shows his recognition that he would go free if he was ruled incompetent and the indictment were dismissed.

However, the defense's medical experts counter, arguing it instead underscores that Jeffries does not remember his conditions and the seriousness of the situation.

"He lacked the appropriate emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is up against such serious allegations," testified one forensic psychiatrist who reviewed Jeffries.

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

Conflicting Neurological Assessments

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

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the time of the 2018 incident and his records showed he persisted in drinking after being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical drinking had a decisive influence on his health.

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

Doctors from a treatment facility said that Jeffries was fit after evaluating him over four months in prison.

They contend his cognitive abilities did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an examination could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is sharper and more able cognitively than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for competency," said one doctor.

Jeffries, dressed in a formal wear in the hearing, was described as jovial and quite charismatic during meetings in the facility, and was deliberately testing the limits, at times using disrespectful language.

They diagnosed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and said his results may have gotten better since 2023 from low or deficient to average because of abstinence from alcohol and better treatment during his stay.

109 Prison Calls Raise Issues

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