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Former A&F top executive Mike Jeffries was recorded saying to his British partner how they were screwed and in grave danger if he was declared fit to stand trial on trafficking charges in the coming months, a federal court in NY has learned.

The audio were included in more than 100 recorded calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith played during a multi-day fitness to stand trial hearing this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys assert that he is coping with dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's disease and is unfit to be tried next to his partner and their alleged facilitator in October.

In contrast, prosecutors say their doctors concluded his condition has improved and that the recordings reveal he is extremely fixated on being ruled unfit.

In further audio clips, Jeffries is heard saying he is hoping for a positive result, labeling being deemed competent as a calamity, and tells a physician: you had better declare me unfit, the judge was told.

Court Hearings and Health Testimony

The calls were recorded the previous year while he was being evaluated for a period of months in a treatment center at a correctional institution in North Carolina to determine if he could restore fitness.

The elderly defendant had earlier been ruled legally unfit in May but facility staff then announced in December that he was fit for proceedings after his treatment period.

Government attorneys told the judge Jeffries often griped about prison conditions and was heard explaining to Smith how terrible jail was, stating: which is why we have to make this work.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their accused middleman James Jacobson, 73, were charged with running a international trafficking and commercial sex enterprise in October 2024.

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

Their being taken into custody came after an report that showed the three had been at the centre of a elaborate scheme scouting young men for sex globally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after reviewing the statements of several professionals - forensic psychologists, doctors and neurologists, including prison doctors - who were examined in court this week.

'Unrestrained' Conduct

Several defence experts, maintain that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the after-effects of a head injury, probable Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries exhibits unfiltered and socially inappropriate conduct, which is consistent with a set of cognitive symptoms.

Reported incidents involve Jeffries calling the prosecution's psychologist a cunning bitch, complimenting her hair, informing another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and referring to his partner Smith as a dwarf, they say.

He was also heard in excruciating detail on around 20 prison calls planning his trips abroad for the coming months, even though having been on house arrest since 2024.

"I can't go on trips without you," Jeffries was overheard telling Smith from incarceration.

Prosecutors suggest this shows his recognition that he would go free if he was found unfit and the indictment were dismissed.

In contrast, the defence's witnesses counter, stating it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the gravity of the charges.

"He lacked the appropriate emotional response that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such serious charges," testified one doctor who reviewed Jeffries.

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

Opposing Psychiatric Assessments

Evidence indicated there is data that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration began in 2013, when scans showed brain shrinkage, which was worsened by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the moment of the 2018 incident and his records showed he persisted in drinking subsequent to being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general drinking had a major impact on his state.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began seeing things, with one event in 2019 where he was discovered in his underwear, immobile, in a neighbour's garden.

Doctors from a Federal Medical Center said that Jeffries was competent after evaluating him over four months in prison.

They assert his cognitive abilities 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 sharper and more functioning cognitively than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for competency," stated one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the court, was reported to be lighthearted and fairly charismatic during meetings in prison, and was purposely pushing boundaries, sometimes using disrespectful language.

They diagnosed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and indicated his performance on tests may have risen since 2023 from borderline or deficient to normal because of sobriety and better treatment during his stay.

109 Prison Calls Raise Concerns

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