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Former A&F CEO Mike Jeffries was recorded telling his UK-based partner that they are in serious trouble and in big trouble if he was deemed competent to stand trial on trafficking allegations in the coming months, a US district court has heard.

The recordings were among over 100 telephone conversations between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith played during a four-day legal competency session this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers contend that he is suffering with dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's and is not competent to be tried next to his partner and their purported facilitator in October.

Nevertheless, prosecutors contend their doctors determined his health has gotten better and that the conversations reveal he is incredibly focused on being declared incompetent.

In further tapes, Jeffries is heard saying he is praying for a good outcome, describing being ruled able as a catastrophe, and tells a physician: you better rule me unfit, the judge was told.

Judicial Hearings and Psychiatric Testimony

The recordings were recorded in the past year while he was being held for a period of months in a mental health unit at a US prison in North Carolina to determine if he could regain his faculties.

The octogenarian had previously been found mentally incompetent in May but correctional authorities then declared in December that he was competent for proceedings following his treatment period.

Government attorneys advised the judge Jeffries frequently protested life in jail and was recorded explaining to Smith how awful incarceration was, remarking: so we have to make this work.

Background

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

They have denied the allegations, which have a potential penalty of a life term.

Their being taken into custody came after an exposé that revealed the trio had been at the centre of a elaborate scheme recruiting young men for sex globally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after weighing the testimony of multiple specialists - forensic psychologists, specialists and medical experts, including correctional physicians - who were questioned in the courtroom during the hearing.

'Disinhibited' Conduct

A trio of defence experts, testify that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the residual effects of a traumatic brain injury, likely Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries shows socially inappropriate and off-color behaviour, which is symptomatic of a spectrum of dementia symptoms.

Instances are Jeffries referring to the prosecution's expert witness a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, informing another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and referring to his partner Smith as a midget, they say.

He was also heard in excruciating detail on around 20 jail conversations talking about his trips abroad for the near future, notwithstanding having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

The prosecution argue this shows his awareness that he would go free if he was declared unfit and the charges were dismissed.

In contrast, the defence's expert witnesses counter, saying it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the severity of the charges.

"He lacked the appropriate affect that I would expect someone to have who is facing such severe charges," testified one expert who assessed Jeffries.

"Instead, his demeanor throughout the examination... was similar to we were having a chat at his club. There was no sign of distress."

Diverging Medical Opinions

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

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the time of the 2018 fall and his records showed he continued drinking following being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall alcohol consumption had a decisive influence on his condition.

Following the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and started having visions, with one incident in 2019 where he was discovered in his underclothes, immobile, in a neighbor's yard.

Doctors from a prison hospital testified that Jeffries was fit after evaluating him over four months in prison.

They say his cognitive abilities did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an post-mortem could be performed.

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

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the court, was reported to be jovial and fairly charismatic during evaluations in prison, and was deliberately pushing boundaries, at times using familiar address.

They found Jeffries with slight deficits and said his performance on tests may have gotten better since 2023 from low or deficient to typical because of stopping drinking and more consistent management of prescriptions during his evaluation.

109 Prison Calls Raise Issues

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