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Ex- Abercrombie & Fitch top executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape informing his associate how they are screwed and in big trouble if he was deemed able to go to trial on sex trafficking accusations later this year, a New York federal court has learned.

The taped conversations were part of over 100 recorded calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith played during a multi-day legal competency proceeding on Long Island on Long Island.

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

However, prosecutors contend their doctors determined his health has improved and that the recordings show he is extremely preoccupied on being declared not competent.

In additional tapes, Jeffries states he is wishing for a positive result, labeling being found fit as a catastrophe, and instructs a doctor: you had better rule me incompetent, the judge heard.

Judicial Proceedings and Health Opinions

The recordings were made last year while he was being treated for four months in a treatment center at a US prison in North Carolina to see if he could restore competency.

The octogenarian had earlier been ruled mentally incompetent in May but facility staff then announced in December that he was fit for proceedings after his hospital stay.

Government attorneys informed the court Jeffries repeatedly griped about life in jail and was recorded describing to Smith how awful prison was, remarking: which is why we have to make this work.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged go-between James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with operating a international human trafficking and commercial sex enterprise in October 2024.

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

Their arrests followed an investigation that uncovered the group had been at the core of a sophisticated scheme recruiting individuals for sex globally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after considering the evidence of multiple specialists - forensic psychologists, doctors and brain specialists, including correctional physicians - who were questioned in proceedings recently.

'Inappropriate' Behavior

Three medical witnesses for the defense, maintain that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the residual effects of a brain trauma, suspected dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries exhibits unfiltered and socially inappropriate behavior, which is symptomatic of a range of cognitive symptoms.

Instances involve Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's expert witness a insult, complimenting her hair, informing another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, according to testimony.

He was also taped in excruciating detail on approximately 20 prison calls discussing his travel itinerary for the coming months, even though having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors suggest this demonstrates his recognition that he would go free if he was found incompetent and the charges were dismissed.

Conversely, the defence's expert witnesses disagree, stating it instead underscores that Jeffries has forgotten his court-ordered limits and the gravity of the case.

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

"On the contrary, his manner during the evaluation... was as if we were having a meal at his club. There was no indication of alarm."

Conflicting Psychiatric Assessments

Reports indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration started in 2013, when scans showed reduction in volume, which was accelerated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the moment of the 2018 incident and his history showed he persisted in drinking after being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall drinking had a significant effect on his condition.

Following the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started hallucinating, with one event in 2019 where he was discovered in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a nearby property.

Doctors from a treatment facility testified that Jeffries was able after observing him over several months in custody.

They say his intellectual functioning did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is brighter and more capable cognitively than probably 95% of the patients that we evaluate for competency," stated one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the court, was reported to be lighthearted and rather engaging during evaluations in prison, and was deliberately pushing boundaries, on occasion using familiar language.

They assessed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and said his testing scores may have improved since 2023 from low or deficient to normal because of abstinence from alcohol and improved management of prescriptions during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Present Issues

Central to determining fitness is whether Jeffries comprehends the charges against him, their implications, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial