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One-time the fashion retailer CEO Mike Jeffries was taped saying to his UK-based partner how they are screwed and in deep trouble if he was found competent to stand trial on human trafficking accusations in the coming months, a US district court has learned.

The taped conversations were part of over 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith referred to during a lengthy mental competency proceeding this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers assert that he is suffering with dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's disease and is not competent to face trial together with his partner and their alleged intermediary in October.

Nevertheless, prosecutors argue their doctors determined his mental state has gotten better and that the calls demonstrate he is extremely preoccupied on being found incompetent.

In other audio clips, Jeffries states he is wishing for a good outcome, characterizing being ruled able as a disaster, and says to a physician: you must find me incompetent, the Central Islip court heard.

Legal Hearings and Medical Evidence

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

The elderly defendant had previously been found legally unfit last May but prison officials then stated in December that he was able for proceedings subsequent to his hospital stay.

Prosecutors informed the judge Jeffries repeatedly griped about incarceration and was caught on tape describing to Smith how terrible incarceration was, remarking: so we have to pull this off.

The Case

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

They have entered not guilty pleas the accusations, which could result in a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

Their being taken into custody followed an report that uncovered the group had been at the heart of a complex operation scouting men for sex globally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after considering the statements of six experts - forensic psychologists, specialists and medical experts, including facility doctors - who were cross-examined in proceedings during the hearing.

'Unrestrained' Conduct

A trio of medical witnesses for the defense, maintain that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the after-effects of a head injury, likely dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries demonstrates disinhibited and improper behavior, which is symptomatic of a set of cognitive symptoms.

Examples are Jeffries calling the prosecutor's professional psychologist a insult, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, they say.

He was also taped in excruciating detail on around 20 jail conversations talking about his travel itinerary for the near future, notwithstanding having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors contend this shows his understanding that he would be released if he was declared unfit and the indictment were dropped.

In contrast, the defense's witnesses have a different view, arguing it instead highlights that Jeffries does not remember his conditions and the severity of the situation.

"He lacked the normal reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is facing such serious allegations," stated one forensic psychiatrist who assessed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his manner throughout the assessment... was almost like we were having a meal at his country club. There was no sense of distress."

Diverging Psychiatric Opinions

Evidence indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration commenced in 2013, when imaging showed mild atrophy, which was accelerated by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the time of the 2018 fall and his history showed he kept on drinking after being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical intake had a major impact on his health.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and started seeing things, with one event in 2019 where he was located in his underclothes, unable to move, in a nearby property.

Experts from a Federal Medical Center stated that Jeffries was able after assessing him over four months in custody.

They say his mental faculties did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the deterioration that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is brighter and more functioning mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we assess for fitness," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the hearing, was reported to be cheerful and fairly personable during meetings in the facility, and was intentionally pushing boundaries, at times using informal terms.

They assessed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and indicated his testing scores may have risen since 2023 from low or impaired to normal because of sobriety and better medication management during his confinement.

109 Jail Recordings Present Questions

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