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Former Abercrombie & Fitch chief executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape informing his British partner that they are screwed and in deep trouble if he was deemed competent to go to trial on sex trafficking charges later this year, a New York federal court has learned.

The recordings were part of over 100 phone calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith referred to during a multi-day legal competency hearing recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys argue that he is suffering with dementia and the onset of the disease and is not competent to stand trial together with his partner and their purported intermediary in October.

In contrast, prosecutors argue their health professionals concluded his condition has improved and that the conversations reveal he is incredibly fixated on being declared unfit.

In additional recordings, Jeffries says he is hoping for a good outcome, labeling being ruled able as a calamity, and says to a medical professional: you better rule me unfit, the Central Islip court heard.

Legal Process and Health Testimony

The calls were made the previous year while he was being treated for several months in a mental health unit at a federal prison in North Carolina to see if he could regain fitness.

The octogenarian had in the past been deemed legally unfit in May but facility staff then stated in December that he was competent for trial after his hospital stay.

Prosecutors informed the court Jeffries frequently complained about life in jail and was heard explaining to Smith how awful incarceration was, remarking: which is why we have to succeed.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported middleman James Jacobson, 73, were charged with operating a global human trafficking and commercial sex enterprise in October 2024.

They have denied the allegations, which have a potential penalty of a life term.

Their being taken into custody followed an exposé that showed the trio had been at the core of a sophisticated operation recruiting individuals for sex globally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after considering the statements of several professionals - forensic psychologists, specialists and neurologists, including correctional physicians - who were examined in proceedings during the hearing.

'Inappropriate' Conduct

Several medical witnesses for the defense, testify that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the residual effects of a brain trauma, likely a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries exhibits socially inappropriate and improper behaviour, which is consistent with a range of cognitive symptoms.

Reported incidents include Jeffries referring to the prosecution's psychologist a cunning bitch, praising her hair, informing another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, the court heard.

He was also taped in minute detail on about 20 prison calls planning his international travel plans for the coming months, even though having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

The prosecution suggest this demonstrates his recognition that he would be released if he was ruled incompetent and the case were dropped.

However, the defence's expert witnesses disagree, saying it instead underscores that Jeffries does not remember his conditions and the severity of the situation.

"I didn't see the appropriate affect that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such serious charges," said one doctor who assessed Jeffries.

"Instead, his manner throughout the examination... was as if we were having a chat at his country club. There was no indication of alarm."

Opposing Medical Diagnoses

Reports indicated there is data that Jeffries' decline started in 2013, when scans showed brain shrinkage, which was exacerbated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 fall and his records showed he kept on drinking subsequent to being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall alcohol consumption had a decisive influence on his condition.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began seeing things, with one incident in 2019 where he was located in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a neighbor's yard.

Medical professionals from a treatment facility testified that Jeffries was competent after assessing him over an extended period in the facility.

They say his intellectual functioning did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is sharper and more able mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for competency," said one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, wearing a formal wear in the hearing, was reported to be lighthearted and fairly charismatic during meetings in prison, and was deliberately being provocative, on occasion using disrespectful address.

They found Jeffries with slight deficits and said his performance on tests may have improved since 2023 from low or deficient to typical because of abstinence from alcohol and more consistent medication management during his confinement.

109 Prison Calls Present Questions

Key to determining fitness is whether Jeffries grasps the allegations against him, their consequences, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial