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Ex- the fashion retailer CEO Mike Jeffries was taped informing his British partner that they were finished and in big trouble if he was deemed able to face trial on trafficking allegations in the coming months, a federal court in NY has been told.

The recordings were among in excess of 100 recorded calls between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith played during a lengthy mental competency proceeding this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys assert that he is battling dementia and the onset of Alzheimer's disease and is unfit to stand trial together with his partner and their purported facilitator in October.

However, government lawyers contend their doctors concluded his mental state has gotten better and that the calls demonstrate he is incredibly focused on being ruled incompetent.

In further tapes, Jeffries says he is hoping for a favorable ruling, describing being found fit as a calamity, and instructs a medical professional: you must declare me unfit, the judge learned.

Legal Proceedings and Medical Opinions

The recordings were made last year while he was being held for four months in a mental health unit at a federal prison in North Carolina to determine if he could regain fitness.

The elderly defendant had in the past been deemed legally unfit last May but correctional authorities then announced in December that he was able for proceedings subsequent to his treatment period.

The prosecution advised the court Jeffries often protested incarceration and was heard telling to Smith how horrible jail was, remarking: which is why we have to pull this off.

Background

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

They have entered not guilty pleas the allegations, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Their arrests came after an exposé that revealed the trio had been at the centre of a complex network scouting men for sex around the world while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after considering the statements of multiple specialists - forensic psychologists, psychiatrists and medical experts, including facility doctors - who were cross-examined in the courtroom during the hearing.

'Disinhibited' Conduct

Three defence experts, argue that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the residual effects of a brain trauma, likely Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries shows socially inappropriate and off-color behaviour, which is symptomatic of a set of cognitive symptoms.

Instances are Jeffries referring to the prosecution's expert witness a cunning bitch, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and referring to his partner Smith as a dwarf, according to testimony.

He was also heard in minute detail on approximately 20 prison calls talking about his international travel plans for the next few months, even though having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors suggest this indicates his understanding that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled unfit and the charges were dismissed.

In contrast, the defense's expert witnesses disagree, saying it instead underscores that Jeffries has forgotten his legal restrictions and the gravity of the charges.

"There wasn't the normal emotional response that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such severe charges," said one forensic psychiatrist who assessed Jeffries.

"Rather, his demeanor throughout the evaluation... was as if we were having a meal at his country club. There was no indication of alarm."

Conflicting Neurological Diagnoses

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

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 event and his medical records showed he continued drinking subsequent to being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall drinking had a major impact on his state.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and began seeing things, with one incident in 2019 where he was located in his underclothes, immobile, in a neighbour's garden.

Experts from a treatment facility testified that Jeffries was competent after observing him over four months in the facility.

They contend his intellectual functioning were not consistent with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is brighter and more able cognitively than probably 95% of the individuals that we test for fitness," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, wearing a suit and tie in the courtroom, was described as jovial and quite engaging during evaluations in prison, and was intentionally pushing boundaries, on occasion using informal terms.

They found Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and said his results may have improved since 2023 from low or deficient to normal because of stopping drinking and improved management of prescriptions during his evaluation.

109 Recorded Conversations Present Concerns

Central to assessing fitness is whether Jeffries grasps the allegations against him, their implications, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial