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Former A&F top executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape telling his British partner how they'd be finished and in big trouble if he was found able to go to trial on sex trafficking allegations this autumn, a New York federal court has heard.

The recordings were included in over 100 phone calls between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith played during a multi-day mental competency hearing recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys assert that he is battling dementia and the onset of Alzheimer's disease and is not competent to stand trial next to his partner and their alleged facilitator in October.

In contrast, government lawyers argue their health professionals determined his health has gotten better and that the recordings demonstrate he is remarkably focused on being ruled not competent.

In further audio clips, Jeffries says he is praying for a favorable ruling, characterizing being deemed competent as a calamity, and says to a physician: you better rule me incompetent, the court was told.

Court Process and Health Testimony

The calls were recorded in the past year while he was being evaluated for a period of months in a psychiatric facility at a correctional institution in North Carolina to assess if he could recover fitness.

The octogenarian had in the past been deemed not competent in May but prison officials then stated in December that he was fit for proceedings following his hospital stay.

Prosecutors informed the court Jeffries frequently griped about incarceration and was heard explaining to Smith how horrible incarceration was, remarking: so we got to succeed.

Background

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

They have entered not guilty pleas the accusations, which have a maximum sentence of a life term.

Their detentions followed an investigation that revealed the group had been at the centre of a sophisticated operation sourcing young men for sex internationally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after reviewing the statements of several professionals - psychologists, specialists and medical experts, including prison doctors - who were examined in proceedings this week.

'Unrestrained' Behaviour

Three defence experts, testify that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the lingering impact of a brain trauma, likely dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries demonstrates socially inappropriate and improper conduct, which is consistent with a range of dementia symptoms.

Examples involve Jeffries calling the prosecutor's expert witness a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, according to testimony.

He was also recorded in great detail on approximately 20 recorded calls discussing his international travel plans for the near future, despite having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

Prosecutors argue this demonstrates his awareness that he would be released if he was ruled incompetent and the case were dropped.

Conversely, the defense's expert witnesses have a different view, saying it instead highlights that Jeffries has forgotten his legal restrictions and the gravity of the case.

"I didn't see the normal reaction that I would expect someone to have who is facing such severe allegations," testified one doctor who assessed Jeffries.

"Instead, his behavior during the assessment... was almost like we were having lunch at his country club. There was no indication of alarm."

Conflicting Neurological Diagnoses

Reports indicated there is data that Jeffries' mental decline began in 2013, when scans showed reduction in volume, which was exacerbated by a incident in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the time of the 2018 incident and his medical records showed he continued drinking after being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general alcohol consumption had a decisive influence on his state.

Following the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was found in his underclothes, immobile, in a neighbour's garden.

Experts from a treatment facility stated that Jeffries was fit after assessing him over an extended period in prison.

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

"Even given the deterioration that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is brighter and more able intellectually than probably 95% of the individuals that we assess for competency," said one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the court, was reported to be cheerful and quite charismatic during evaluations in the facility, and was intentionally being provocative, on occasion using disrespectful terms.

They found Jeffries with slight deficits and suggested his results may have gotten better since 2023 from low or impaired to average because of abstinence from alcohol and improved medication management during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Raise Concerns

Key to assessing fitness is whether Jeffries understands the charges against him, their consequences, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial