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One-time A&F chief executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape telling his British partner that they'd be screwed and in grave danger if he was deemed fit to go to trial on human trafficking allegations in the coming months, a federal court in NY has learned.

The audio were part of more than 100 phone calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith referred to during a four-day mental competency hearing recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team assert that he is battling cognitive decline and late onset of Alzheimer's disease and is unfit to stand trial next to his partner and their purported middleman in October.

Nevertheless, the prosecution say their medical experts concluded his health has improved and that the conversations show he is incredibly focused on being ruled unfit.

In further tapes, Jeffries is heard saying he is praying for a favorable ruling, characterizing being found fit as a calamity, and instructs a medical professional: you must declare me unfit, the judge heard.

Judicial Proceedings and Psychiatric Evidence

The conversations were taped the previous year while he was being held for a period of months in a mental health unit at a correctional institution in North Carolina to determine if he could recover fitness.

The 81-year-old had previously been found legally unfit in May but correctional authorities then stated in December that he was fit for proceedings following his treatment period.

Government attorneys informed the court Jeffries repeatedly protested incarceration and was recorded telling to Smith how horrible jail was, adding: so we have to succeed.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were charged with running a global trafficking and prostitution business in October 2024.

They have entered not guilty pleas the accusations, which could result in a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Their detentions were prompted by an exposé that revealed the trio had been at the core of a complex network scouting men for sex around the world while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after weighing the testimony of several professionals - experts, specialists and medical experts, including prison doctors - who were questioned in proceedings recently.

'Unrestrained' Behaviour

Several defence experts, maintain that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the residual effects of a traumatic brain injury, likely dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries demonstrates disinhibited and improper behaviour, which is consistent with a spectrum of symptoms.

Examples include Jeffries calling the prosecution's expert witness a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, informing another expert his clothing was badly made, and referring to his partner Smith as a dwarf, they say.

He was also recorded in excruciating detail on around 20 recorded calls talking about his travel itinerary 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 recorded saying to Smith from jail.

The prosecution contend this shows his understanding that he would be released if he was declared unfit and the charges were dropped.

In contrast, the defence's medical experts have a different view, saying it instead underscores that Jeffries does not remember his legal restrictions and the seriousness of the situation.

"There wasn't the appropriate affect that I would anticipate someone to have who is up against such serious allegations," said one expert who evaluated Jeffries.

"Rather, his manner throughout the assessment... was similar to we were having a chat at his home. There was no indication of alarm."

Diverging Medical Assessments

Testimony indicated there is data that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration began in 2013, when imaging showed brain shrinkage, which was accelerated by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the time of the 2018 incident and his history showed he continued drinking after being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general alcohol consumption had a significant effect on his condition.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started hallucinating, with one incident in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, incapacitated, in a neighbour's garden.

Medical professionals from a prison hospital said that Jeffries was competent after observing him over four months in the facility.

They say his cognitive abilities were not consistent with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is sharper and more able cognitively than probably 95% of the inmates that we test for competency," stated one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, wearing a suit and tie in the hearing, was reported to be lighthearted and fairly engaging during interactions in the facility, and was purposely being provocative, on occasion using informal language.

They assessed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and suggested his results may have gotten better since 2023 from low or impaired to normal because of sobriety and more consistent medication management during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Present Questions

Central to determining fitness is whether Jeffries comprehends the charges against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial