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Ex- Abercrombie & Fitch top executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape saying to his UK-based partner that they were in serious trouble and in grave danger if he was declared able to face trial on human trafficking charges this autumn, a New York federal court has heard.

The audio were among in excess of 100 telephone conversations between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith cited during a lengthy fitness to stand trial hearing this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team assert that he is battling cognitive decline and the onset of the disease and is incapable to stand trial together with his partner and their accused facilitator in October.

However, prosecutors contend their medical experts found his condition has gotten better and that the calls demonstrate he is incredibly focused on being declared incompetent.

In other recordings, Jeffries says he is praying for a positive result, describing being ruled able as a calamity, and tells a physician: you must rule me unfit, the judge was told.

Court Proceedings and Medical Opinions

The recordings were made in the past year while he was being held for several months in a mental health unit at a federal prison in North Carolina to assess if he could restore his faculties.

The octogenarian had in the past been deemed mentally incompetent last May but facility staff then stated in December that he was fit for proceedings following his treatment period.

Government attorneys advised the judge Jeffries often griped about prison conditions and was caught on tape describing to Smith how horrible jail was, stating: so we have to make this work.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were charged with running a global trafficking and commercial sex enterprise in October 2024.

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

Their being taken into custody came after an investigation that uncovered the three had been at the heart of a sophisticated scheme sourcing individuals for sex globally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the statements of six experts - forensic psychologists, specialists and brain specialists, including facility doctors - who were examined in proceedings recently.

'Disinhibited' Behavior

Three defense witnesses, testify that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the lingering impact of a traumatic brain injury, probable dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries shows socially inappropriate and off-color behavior, which is part of a range of cognitive symptoms.

Examples involve Jeffries referring to the prosecution's psychologist a derogatory term, praising her hair, informing another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, according to testimony.

He was also recorded in great detail on approximately 20 recorded calls planning his trips abroad for the near future, despite having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

Prosecutors suggest this demonstrates his understanding that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled incompetent and the indictment were dropped.

In contrast, the defense's medical experts have a different view, stating it instead highlights that Jeffries has forgotten his court-ordered limits and the gravity of the case.

"There wasn't the appropriate reaction that I would expect someone to have who is facing such grave allegations," stated one expert who reviewed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his demeanor throughout the assessment... was almost like we were having lunch at his club. There was no indication of alarm."

Conflicting Neurological Assessments

Testimony indicated there is data that Jeffries' mental decline began in 2013, when scans showed mild atrophy, which was exacerbated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the time of the 2018 fall and his history showed he continued drinking subsequent to being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical drinking had a major impact on his condition.

After the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and began hallucinating, with one episode in 2019 where he was discovered in his underwear, incapacitated, in a neighbour's garden.

Experts from a prison hospital testified that Jeffries was able after observing him over four months in custody.

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

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is sharper and more able cognitively than probably 95% of the individuals that we assess for competency," stated one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the court, was described as jovial and quite charismatic during interactions in prison, and was deliberately pushing boundaries, on occasion using informal terms.

They found Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and suggested his results may have gotten better since 2023 from borderline or deficient to average because of sobriety and better treatment during his confinement.

109 Recorded Conversations Raise Concerns

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