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Former A&F top executive Mike Jeffries was taped telling his associate how they are screwed and in deep trouble if he was declared competent to face trial on trafficking allegations later this year, a federal court in NY has been told.

The recordings were included in in excess of 100 recorded calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith played during a multi-day legal competency session recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys assert that he is suffering with cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's and is unfit to face trial alongside his partner and their accused intermediary in October.

Nevertheless, prosecutors contend their health professionals determined his health has gotten better and that the conversations show he is remarkably focused on being ruled incompetent.

In other tapes, Jeffries is heard saying he is wishing for a positive result, describing being deemed competent as a calamity, and instructs a medical professional: you better find me unfit, the court was told.

Judicial Proceedings and Medical Evidence

The conversations were recorded last year while he was being treated for four months in a psychiatric facility at a federal prison in North Carolina to assess if he could restore competency.

The octogenarian had previously been found not competent last May but facility staff then announced in December that he was able for trial subsequent to his evaluation.

The prosecution told the court Jeffries often complained about life in jail and was caught on tape describing to Smith how horrible prison was, stating: that's why we have to make this work.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged go-between James Jacobson, 73, were charged with orchestrating a international sex trafficking and prostitution operation in October 2024.

They have denied the accusations, which carry a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

Their arrests followed an exposé that revealed the three had been at the core of a complex operation recruiting men for sex globally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the testimony of several professionals - experts, psychiatrists and brain specialists, including prison doctors - who were cross-examined in proceedings this week.

'Inappropriate' Behaviour

A trio of defence experts, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the after-effects of a traumatic brain injury, suspected dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries demonstrates disinhibited and off-color conduct, which is consistent with a set of symptoms.

Reported incidents involve Jeffries calling the prosecutor's expert witness a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, informing another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a midget, they say.

He was also taped in minute detail on around 20 recorded calls discussing his travel itinerary for the near future, despite having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

The prosecution suggest this demonstrates his understanding that he would be released if he was declared unfit and the charges were dropped.

In contrast, the defense's medical experts counter, stating it instead highlights that Jeffries does not remember his conditions and the seriousness of the case.

"There wasn't the normal affect that I would expect someone to have who is up against such grave charges," testified one forensic psychiatrist who assessed Jeffries.

"Rather, his demeanor during the assessment... was similar to we were having a chat at his home. There was no indication of distress."

Opposing Neurological Diagnoses

Testimony indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' mental decline started in 2013, when scans showed reduction in volume, which was accelerated by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the moment of the 2018 fall and his records showed he kept on drinking after being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical intake had a decisive influence on his state.

Following the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started hallucinating, with one event in 2019 where he was found in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a neighbor's yard.

Doctors from a Federal Medical Center testified that Jeffries was able after observing him over four months in prison.

They contend his intellectual functioning did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is sharper and more capable cognitively than probably 95% of the inmates that we test for fitness," said one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a formal wear in the court, was described as cheerful and rather engaging during interactions in the facility, and was deliberately pushing boundaries, sometimes using informal language.

They assessed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and suggested his testing scores may have risen since 2023 from low or impaired to average because of sobriety and improved medication management during his evaluation.

109 Jail Recordings Raise Concerns

Fundamental to determining competency is whether Jeffries grasps the allegations against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial