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Ex- the fashion retailer CEO Mike Jeffries was recorded informing his UK-based partner that they are finished and in grave danger if he was found able to go to trial on human trafficking charges later this year, a US district court has been told.

The audio were among more than 100 phone calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith cited during a four-day fitness to stand trial session recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers argue that he is battling dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's disease and is unfit to stand trial alongside his partner and their alleged facilitator in October.

Nevertheless, government lawyers say their medical experts concluded his condition has gotten better and that the conversations show he is remarkably preoccupied on being ruled unfit.

In other audio clips, Jeffries states he is praying for a favorable ruling, characterizing being deemed competent as a calamity, and tells a physician: you better find me unfit, the Central Islip court heard.

Judicial Process and Health Evidence

The recordings were taped the previous year while he was being evaluated for several months in a mental health unit at a correctional institution in North Carolina to assess if he could restore his faculties.

The 81-year-old had previously been found legally unfit in May but correctional authorities then stated in December that he was able for trial following his evaluation.

Prosecutors informed the judge Jeffries frequently complained about life in jail and was heard explaining to Smith how horrible jail was, adding: that's why we have to succeed.

Context

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

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

Their being taken into custody followed an exposé that revealed the three had been at the heart of a elaborate network sourcing young men for sex around the world while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after weighing the statements of several professionals - psychologists, doctors and medical experts, including facility doctors - who were questioned in proceedings during the hearing.

'Disinhibited' Conduct

A trio of defence experts, 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 shows socially inappropriate and off-color behaviour, which is consistent with a set of cognitive symptoms.

Examples are Jeffries calling the prosecution's expert witness a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was badly made, and describing his partner Smith as a midget, according to testimony.

He was also recorded in excruciating detail on approximately 20 recorded calls discussing his trips abroad for the near future, notwithstanding having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

The prosecution contend this demonstrates his awareness that he would be released if he was declared incompetent and the charges were dismissed.

In contrast, the defense's medical experts disagree, saying it instead underscores that Jeffries fails to recall his court-ordered limits and the gravity of the case.

"There wasn't the expected emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such serious charges," testified one expert who reviewed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his manner during the examination... was similar to we were having a chat at his home. There was no sign of anxiety."

Conflicting Neurological Opinions

Evidence indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' mental decline commenced in 2013, when scans showed reduction in volume, which was exacerbated by a fall in 2018.

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

After the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and started seeing things, with one episode in 2019 where he was found in his underclothes, immobile, in a nearby property.

Medical professionals from a treatment facility said that Jeffries was competent after observing him over an extended period in custody.

They assert his mental faculties did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is more capable and more functioning intellectually than probably 95% of the patients that we evaluate for competency," testified one expert.

Jeffries, wearing a suit and tie in the court, was reported to be lighthearted and rather charismatic during meetings in the facility, and was purposely pushing boundaries, sometimes using informal address.

They found Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and indicated his performance on tests may have gotten better since 2023 from borderline or deficient to average because of sobriety and better medication management during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Prompt Questions

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