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Ex- the fashion retailer chief executive Mike Jeffries was recorded telling his UK-based partner how they were in serious trouble and in big trouble if he was deemed able to face trial on human trafficking charges this autumn, a New York federal court has learned.

The taped conversations were part of over 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith cited during a multi-day legal competency hearing on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team assert that he is suffering with dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's disease and is incapable to stand trial together with his partner and their purported middleman in October.

In contrast, prosecutors contend their doctors found his condition has improved and that the conversations demonstrate he is incredibly preoccupied on being ruled incompetent.

In further audio clips, Jeffries says he is hoping for a good outcome, describing being deemed competent as a calamity, and instructs a doctor: you better rule me incompetent, the Central Islip court heard.

Judicial Hearings and Psychiatric Evidence

The calls were recorded last year while he was being evaluated for several months in a mental health unit at a correctional institution in North Carolina to determine if he could recover fitness.

The elderly defendant had in the past been deemed legally unfit previously but correctional authorities then announced in December that he was fit for trial following his treatment period.

Government attorneys advised the judge Jeffries frequently protested life in jail and was caught on tape telling to Smith how awful incarceration was, stating: so we must pull this off.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged middleman James Jacobson, 73, were accused with orchestrating a worldwide human trafficking and prostitution operation in October 2024.

They have pleaded not guilty the accusations, which carry a potential penalty of a life term.

Their arrests followed an investigation that uncovered the three had been at the core of a elaborate network scouting young men for sex internationally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the evidence of multiple specialists - psychologists, doctors and medical experts, including facility doctors - who were examined in the courtroom recently.

'Disinhibited' Conduct

Several defense witnesses, argue that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the lingering impact of a brain trauma, suspected dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

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

Instances involve Jeffries referring to the prosecution's psychologist a insult, remarking on her hair, informing another expert his clothing was badly made, and describing his partner Smith as a derogatory term, they say.

He was also heard in minute detail on around 20 prison calls planning his travel itinerary for the next few months, notwithstanding having been on restricted movement since 2024.

"I can't go on trips without you," Jeffries was recorded telling Smith from prison.

The prosecution contend this indicates his understanding that he would be released if he was found incompetent and the indictment were dismissed.

However, the defense's witnesses have a different view, arguing it instead points to that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the severity of the case.

"I didn't see the appropriate reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such serious charges," testified one doctor who assessed Jeffries.

"Instead, his behavior during the examination... was as if we were having a meal at his home. There was no sign of anxiety."

Opposing Medical Opinions

Evidence indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' mental decline commenced in 2013, when imaging showed brain shrinkage, which was accelerated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the time of the 2018 event and his records showed he persisted in drinking following being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical alcohol consumption had a decisive influence on his state.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and began having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, unable to move, in a nearby property.

Experts from a prison hospital testified that Jeffries was able after observing him over an extended period in the facility.

They say his mental faculties were not consistent with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the deterioration that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is more capable and more capable mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for competency," said one expert.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the hearing, was described as cheerful and quite engaging during evaluations in prison, and was intentionally testing the limits, sometimes using disrespectful address.

They found Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and suggested his results may have gotten better since 2023 from low or deficient to typical because of sobriety and better management of prescriptions during his confinement.

109 Jail Recordings Prompt Questions

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