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Ex- Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was taped informing his associate how they'd be screwed and in big trouble if he was declared able to face trial on human trafficking accusations in the coming months, a US district court has been told.

The taped conversations were part of more than 100 phone calls between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith played during a lengthy legal competency proceeding recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team argue that he is battling cognitive decline and late onset of the disease and is incapable to stand trial alongside his partner and their alleged middleman in October.

However, government lawyers say their doctors concluded his health has stabilized and that the recordings demonstrate he is incredibly fixated on being declared incompetent.

In other tapes, Jeffries states he is wishing for a good outcome, describing being ruled able as a calamity, and says to a medical professional: you had better rule me unfit, the judge learned.

Court Hearings and Health Testimony

The conversations were recorded last year while he was being evaluated for four months in a psychiatric facility at a federal prison in North Carolina to assess if he could recover fitness.

The elderly defendant had in the past been deemed not competent in May but correctional authorities then declared in December that he was able for proceedings following his evaluation.

The prosecution informed the judge Jeffries repeatedly griped about incarceration and was heard explaining to Smith how awful prison was, stating: which is why we have to make this work.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged middleman James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with running a worldwide sex trafficking and commercial sex business in October 2024.

They have denied the charges, which carry a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

Their detentions followed an report that revealed the group had been at the centre of a elaborate scheme sourcing men for sex globally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after weighing the testimony of six experts - forensic psychologists, doctors and brain specialists, including facility doctors - who were cross-examined in the courtroom recently.

'Disinhibited' Behaviour

Three defence experts, testify that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the after-effects of a traumatic brain injury, probable dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries exhibits socially inappropriate and socially inappropriate behavior, which is consistent with a spectrum of symptoms.

Examples include Jeffries referring to the prosecution's expert witness a cunning bitch, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a midget, according to testimony.

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

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

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

However, the defence's medical experts counter, arguing it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the seriousness of the situation.

"He lacked the expected reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such grave allegations," said one expert who reviewed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his behavior throughout the evaluation... was similar to we were having a meal at his country club. There was no indication of distress."

Conflicting Medical Opinions

Testimony indicated there is information that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration started in 2013, when tests showed brain shrinkage, which was accelerated by a incident in 2018.

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

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was found in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a neighbour's garden.

Experts from a treatment facility said that Jeffries was fit after assessing him over several months in the facility.

They assert his intellectual functioning did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is more capable and more functioning mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we test for fitness," stated one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the courtroom, was described as jovial and rather charismatic during interactions in prison, and was deliberately testing the limits, at times using informal address.

They assessed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and said his performance on tests may have risen since 2023 from borderline or deficient to average because of stopping drinking and more consistent medication management during his evaluation.

109 Prison Calls Raise Issues

Key to assessing competency is whether Jeffries understands the allegations against him, their implications, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial