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Former A&F CEO Mike Jeffries was taped informing his UK-based partner that they are in serious trouble and in grave danger if he was deemed fit to stand trial on sex trafficking charges this autumn, a New York federal court has heard.

The audio were part of in excess of 100 telephone conversations between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith cited during a lengthy fitness to stand trial session this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys contend that he is suffering with cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to face trial next to his partner and their purported intermediary in October.

However, prosecutors argue their health professionals concluded his health has stabilized and that the calls demonstrate he is remarkably focused on being found unfit.

In other recordings, Jeffries states he is wishing for a good outcome, describing being found fit as a catastrophe, and instructs a doctor: you better declare me unfit, the court learned.

Judicial Hearings and Psychiatric Evidence

The recordings were recorded the previous year while he was being treated for a period of months in a psychiatric facility at a US prison in North Carolina to determine if he could recover fitness.

The 81-year-old had earlier been ruled mentally incompetent previously but facility staff then announced in December that he was able for trial subsequent to his evaluation.

Government attorneys advised the judge Jeffries often protested life in jail and was caught on tape telling to Smith how horrible incarceration was, adding: so we got to make this work.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported go-between James Jacobson, 73, were charged with orchestrating a worldwide human trafficking and commercial sex business in October 2024.

They have denied the charges, which could result in a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Their detentions followed an report that showed the group had been at the core of a sophisticated network sourcing individuals for sex around the world while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after weighing the evidence of six experts - forensic psychologists, specialists and medical experts, including facility doctors - who were questioned in court during the hearing.

'Inappropriate' Behavior

Three defense witnesses, testify that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the after-effects of a brain trauma, probable dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries demonstrates socially inappropriate and off-color behavior, which is part of a set of cognitive symptoms.

Reported incidents include Jeffries calling 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 recorded in minute detail on around 20 recorded calls discussing his international travel plans for the next few 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 argue this demonstrates his recognition that he would be released if he was declared incompetent and the indictment were dropped.

However, the defence's medical experts disagree, saying it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his conditions and the gravity of the charges.

"There wasn't the expected reaction that I would expect someone to have who is facing such severe allegations," said one forensic psychiatrist who assessed Jeffries.

"Rather, his demeanor during the evaluation... was as if we were having lunch at his country club. There was no indication of distress."

Conflicting Neurological Assessments

Testimony indicated there is data that Jeffries' mental decline started in 2013, when tests showed reduction in volume, which was accelerated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the moment of the 2018 fall and his history showed he continued drinking subsequent to being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general drinking had a significant effect on his state.

Following the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and began hallucinating, with one event in 2019 where he was discovered in his underwear, unable to move, in a neighbour's garden.

Doctors from a prison hospital said that Jeffries was able after observing him over several months in custody.

They assert his mental faculties did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an examination could be performed.

"Even given the deterioration that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is brighter and more capable mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for fitness," stated one doctor.

Jeffries, dressed in a formal wear in the court, was described as cheerful and rather charismatic during meetings in prison, and was intentionally testing the limits, on occasion using familiar language.

They found Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and said his results may have gotten better since 2023 from low or deficient to normal because of abstinence from alcohol and improved medication management during his evaluation.

109 Prison Calls Raise Issues

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