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One-time the fashion retailer chief executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape saying to his UK-based partner that they'd be in serious trouble and in big trouble if he was declared able to go to trial on sex trafficking accusations this autumn, a US district court has heard.

The recordings were among over 100 telephone conversations between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith referred to during a lengthy fitness to stand trial session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers contend that he is suffering with cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to stand trial together with his partner and their accused middleman in October.

In contrast, prosecutors say their medical experts determined his mental state has improved and that the calls demonstrate he is incredibly preoccupied on being found unfit.

In other audio clips, Jeffries is heard saying he is hoping for a good outcome, describing being ruled able as a calamity, and says to a medical professional: you had better declare me unfit, the court learned.

Legal Hearings and Psychiatric Evidence

The conversations were taped the previous year while he was being held for several months in a psychiatric facility at a federal prison in North Carolina to determine if he could restore competency.

The octogenarian had previously been found legally unfit last May but facility staff then stated in December that he was able for proceedings subsequent to his evaluation.

Prosecutors told the judge Jeffries frequently complained about incarceration and was recorded explaining to Smith how awful incarceration was, remarking: that's why we got to succeed.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were accused with operating a international sex trafficking and commercial sex enterprise in October 2024.

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

Their being taken into custody were prompted by an report that revealed the group had been at the core of a complex scheme recruiting individuals for sex around the world while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after weighing the testimony of several professionals - experts, doctors and brain specialists, including prison doctors - who were cross-examined in proceedings during the hearing.

'Unrestrained' Conduct

A trio of medical witnesses for the defense, maintain that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the after-effects of a traumatic brain injury, suspected dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries exhibits disinhibited and socially inappropriate behavior, which is symptomatic of a set of symptoms.

Examples are Jeffries calling the prosecution's expert witness a derogatory term, praising her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a midget, they say.

He was also taped in minute detail on around 20 prison calls talking about his trips abroad for the near future, notwithstanding having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

The prosecution suggest this shows his recognition that he would regain his freedom if he was declared unfit and the indictment were dropped.

Conversely, the defence's expert witnesses have a different view, stating it instead highlights that Jeffries fails to recall his court-ordered limits and the seriousness of the charges.

"There wasn't the appropriate emotional response that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such grave allegations," said one expert who reviewed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his manner throughout the evaluation... was almost like we were having a chat at his home. There was no indication of alarm."

Opposing Neurological Diagnoses

Testimony indicated there is information that Jeffries' decline commenced in 2013, when imaging showed brain shrinkage, which was accelerated by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the time of the 2018 event and his records showed he persisted in drinking subsequent to being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general intake had a significant effect on his health.

After the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began having visions, with one incident in 2019 where he was discovered in his underclothes, unable to move, in a nearby property.

Experts from a treatment facility testified that Jeffries was competent 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 absolutely determined until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is more capable 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 courtroom, was reported to be cheerful and rather personable during meetings in prison, and was purposely testing the limits, at times using informal address.

They diagnosed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and said his results may have improved since 2023 from borderline or impaired to typical because of abstinence from alcohol and more consistent treatment during his evaluation.

109 Recorded Conversations Prompt Issues

Central to assessing competency is whether Jeffries grasps the allegations against him, their consequences, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial