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Former the fashion retailer top executive Mike Jeffries was recorded telling his British partner how they'd be in serious trouble and in big trouble if he was found able to face trial on human trafficking accusations later this year, a New York federal court has learned.

The taped conversations were part of in excess of 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith cited during a lengthy mental competency session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers contend that he is battling cognitive decline and late onset of the disease and is unfit to stand trial alongside his partner and their alleged facilitator in October.

However, the prosecution contend their doctors concluded his health has stabilized and that the recordings reveal he is incredibly focused on being found unfit.

In additional recordings, Jeffries states he is praying for a positive result, labeling being found fit as a disaster, and instructs a doctor: you better declare me unfit, the court was told.

Judicial Hearings and Medical Evidence

The conversations were taped in the past year while he was being held for four months in a mental health unit at a US prison in North Carolina to assess if he could recover fitness.

The elderly defendant had earlier been ruled mentally incompetent in May but prison officials then announced in December that he was competent for proceedings subsequent to his hospital stay.

Government attorneys advised the court Jeffries often protested incarceration and was caught on tape explaining to Smith how horrible prison was, stating: that's why we have to pull this off.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their accused go-between James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with orchestrating a global sex trafficking and prostitution operation in October 2024.

They have denied the charges, which could result in a potential penalty of life in prison.

Their detentions followed an investigation that uncovered the group had been at the core of a elaborate scheme scouting young men for sex globally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after weighing the statements of multiple specialists - experts, doctors and brain specialists, including facility doctors - who were examined in court recently.

'Disinhibited' Behaviour

Three medical witnesses for the defense, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the after-effects of a head injury, suspected dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries demonstrates disinhibited and socially inappropriate conduct, which is symptomatic of a spectrum of symptoms.

Examples include Jeffries referring to the prosecution's expert witness a cunning bitch, praising her hair, informing another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a midget, the court heard.

He was also taped in great detail on about 20 jail conversations discussing his trips abroad for the near future, despite having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

The prosecution suggest this demonstrates his understanding that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled incompetent and the charges were dropped.

Conversely, the defense's witnesses counter, arguing it instead points to that Jeffries fails to recall his court-ordered limits and the severity of the situation.

"I didn't see the normal reaction that I would expect someone to have who is facing such grave allegations," said one forensic psychiatrist who assessed Jeffries.

"Instead, his behavior throughout the evaluation... was almost like we were having a meal at his country club. There was no sense of distress."

Opposing Psychiatric Opinions

Testimony indicated there is information that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration began in 2013, when tests showed brain shrinkage, which was exacerbated 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 hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical alcohol consumption had a major impact on his health.

Following the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and started hallucinating, with one episode in 2019 where he was found in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a neighbour's garden.

Experts from a prison hospital testified that Jeffries was fit after observing him over four months in the facility.

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

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is sharper and more capable intellectually than probably 95% of the inmates that we assess for fitness," testified one expert.

Jeffries, wearing a suit and tie in the courtroom, was reported to be lighthearted and rather charismatic during evaluations in the facility, and was intentionally testing the limits, sometimes using familiar terms.

They assessed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and said his results may have improved since 2023 from borderline or deficient to typical because of abstinence from alcohol and more consistent medication management during his evaluation.

109 Prison Calls Prompt Concerns

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