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Former the fashion retailer chief executive Mike Jeffries was taped telling his UK-based partner that they are screwed and in big trouble if he was found able to stand trial on human trafficking charges in the coming months, a New York federal court has heard.

The recordings were part of more than 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a four-day mental competency hearing on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys argue that he is battling dementia and late onset of the disease and is incapable to be tried next to his partner and their alleged intermediary in October.

Nevertheless, the prosecution say their health professionals concluded his mental state has improved and that the calls demonstrate he is incredibly fixated on being declared incompetent.

In other tapes, Jeffries says he is hoping for a favorable ruling, describing being deemed competent as a catastrophe, and says to a doctor: you better rule me incompetent, the judge heard.

Judicial Hearings and Medical Opinions

The conversations were recorded in the past year while he was being treated for several months in a psychiatric facility at a correctional institution in North Carolina to determine if he could recover his faculties.

The 81-year-old had previously been found not competent in May but prison officials then announced in December that he was able for trial subsequent to his hospital stay.

Government attorneys told the court Jeffries frequently griped about incarceration and was recorded telling to Smith how horrible incarceration was, stating: that's why we must make this work.

Background

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

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

Their detentions were prompted by an report that showed the group had been at the heart of a sophisticated operation scouting young men for sex globally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after reviewing the testimony of six experts - forensic psychologists, doctors and neurologists, including facility doctors - who were examined in court during the hearing.

'Inappropriate' Conduct

Three defense witnesses, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the residual effects of a head injury, probable dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries demonstrates socially inappropriate and improper conduct, which is symptomatic of a range of dementia symptoms.

Instances involve Jeffries calling the prosecutor's professional psychologist a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a derogatory term, according to testimony.

He was also heard in minute detail on around 20 prison calls discussing 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 telling Smith from prison.

Prosecutors suggest this indicates his awareness that he would go free if he was found unfit and the case were dropped.

Conversely, the defense's expert witnesses counter, stating it instead underscores that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the severity of the situation.

"I didn't see the expected reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is facing such serious allegations," stated one doctor who assessed Jeffries.

"Instead, his behavior during the examination... was almost like we were having a meal at his home. There was no sign of alarm."

Conflicting Psychiatric Diagnoses

Reports indicated there is data that Jeffries' mental decline started in 2013, when imaging showed brain shrinkage, which was worsened by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the moment of the 2018 fall 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.

After the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and started seeing things, with one episode in 2019 where he was found in his underclothes, unable to move, in a neighbour's garden.

Experts from a prison hospital stated that Jeffries was able after observing him over an extended period in the facility.

They assert 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 experienced... he still is more capable and more functioning intellectually than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for competency," stated one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a suit and tie in the courtroom, was reported to be lighthearted and rather engaging during evaluations in the facility, and was purposely testing the limits, at times using informal address.

They found Jeffries with slight deficits and suggested his performance on tests may have improved since 2023 from low or impaired to typical because of stopping drinking and better medication management during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Present Questions

Key to establishing competency is whether Jeffries understands the charges against him, their implications, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial