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One-time the fashion retailer top executive Mike Jeffries was recorded informing his UK-based partner that they are screwed and in grave danger if he was deemed competent to stand trial on sex trafficking accusations later this year, a New York federal court has heard.

The taped conversations were included in over 100 phone calls between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith played during a lengthy fitness to stand trial proceeding this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team contend that he is battling cognitive decline and late onset of Alzheimer's and is not competent to face trial alongside his partner and their purported middleman in October.

In contrast, the prosecution say their medical experts determined his health has stabilized and that the conversations reveal he is incredibly fixated on being ruled unfit.

In other tapes, Jeffries says he is hoping for a positive result, labeling being found fit as a calamity, and tells a doctor: you had better find me incompetent, the judge was told.

Judicial Proceedings and Medical Testimony

The recordings were taped last year while he was being treated for a period of months in a mental health unit at a federal prison in North Carolina to determine if he could recover his faculties.

The octogenarian had previously been found mentally incompetent previously but correctional authorities then declared in December that he was competent for trial subsequent to his evaluation.

Government attorneys told the court Jeffries repeatedly protested incarceration and was heard telling to Smith how horrible prison was, adding: which is why we must succeed.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged go-between James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with running a worldwide trafficking and prostitution enterprise in October 2024.

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

Their arrests came after an report that uncovered the group had been at the heart of a complex scheme sourcing individuals for sex around the world while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after weighing the statements of six experts - experts, specialists and medical experts, including prison doctors - who were questioned in proceedings recently.

'Unrestrained' Behavior

Three defence experts, testify that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the after-effects of a traumatic brain injury, suspected a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries shows socially inappropriate and socially inappropriate behavior, which is consistent with a set of cognitive symptoms.

Examples include Jeffries referring to the prosecution's expert witness a insult, complimenting her hair, informing another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, the court heard.

He was also heard in great detail on about 20 recorded calls planning his trips abroad for the coming months, even though having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors contend this demonstrates his understanding that he would be released if he was found unfit and the charges were dropped.

In contrast, the defence's medical experts disagree, arguing it instead highlights that Jeffries fails to recall his court-ordered limits and the seriousness of the case.

"He lacked the appropriate emotional response that I would anticipate someone to have who is up against such grave allegations," said one doctor who evaluated Jeffries.

"Rather, his demeanor during the examination... was almost like we were having lunch at his country club. There was no sense of distress."

Diverging Psychiatric Diagnoses

Reports indicated there is data that Jeffries' decline began in 2013, when scans showed brain shrinkage, which was exacerbated by a incident in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the time of the 2018 fall and his records showed he kept on drinking following being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general intake had a major impact on his condition.

After the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and started hallucinating, with one event in 2019 where he was located in his underclothes, immobile, in a nearby property.

Medical professionals from a treatment facility stated that Jeffries was competent after assessing him over four months in prison.

They contend his cognitive abilities were not consistent 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 sharper and more able mentally than probably 95% of the inmates that we evaluate for competency," testified one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a suit and tie in the court, was reported to be jovial and quite personable during meetings in the facility, and was purposely pushing boundaries, on occasion using disrespectful language.

They diagnosed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and indicated his testing scores may have gotten better since 2023 from low or deficient to normal because of abstinence from alcohol and better treatment during his stay.

109 Recorded Conversations Raise Concerns

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