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Former the fashion retailer top executive Mike Jeffries was taped informing his UK-based partner that they'd be finished and in big trouble if he was declared competent to stand trial on human trafficking accusations this autumn, a New York federal court has been told.

The taped conversations were among over 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a multi-day fitness to stand trial hearing on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team argue that he is battling dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's and is unfit to face trial alongside his partner and their accused middleman in October.

However, prosecutors argue their health professionals determined his condition has improved and that the conversations demonstrate he is incredibly focused on being found unfit.

In additional tapes, Jeffries is heard saying he is praying for a positive result, characterizing being deemed competent as a disaster, and instructs a medical professional: you better declare me unfit, the court heard.

Judicial Hearings and Health Testimony

The calls were taped last year while he was being held for several months in a psychiatric facility at a federal prison in North Carolina to see if he could regain his faculties.

The 81-year-old had in the past been deemed legally unfit in May but prison officials then stated in December that he was fit for trial subsequent to his treatment period.

Prosecutors told the court Jeffries often protested prison conditions and was caught on tape describing to Smith how awful jail was, adding: which is why we got to pull this off.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported go-between James Jacobson, 73, were accused with operating a worldwide human trafficking and commercial sex operation in October 2024.

They have pleaded not guilty the accusations, which could result in a maximum sentence of a life term.

Their being taken into custody came after an exposé that uncovered the group had been at the centre of a sophisticated operation recruiting individuals for sex internationally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the testimony of several professionals - forensic psychologists, doctors and medical experts, including facility doctors - who were cross-examined in court during the hearing.

'Disinhibited' Behaviour

Three defence experts, testify that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the after-effects of a brain trauma, suspected dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries demonstrates unfiltered and off-color behaviour, which is consistent with a range of dementia symptoms.

Instances involve Jeffries calling the prosecution's professional psychologist a insult, praising her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and referring to his partner Smith as a midget, the court heard.

He was also recorded in great detail on approximately 20 jail conversations discussing his travel itinerary for the near future, notwithstanding having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

The prosecution contend this indicates his understanding that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled unfit and the charges were dropped.

In contrast, the defence's expert witnesses have a different view, saying it instead highlights that Jeffries has forgotten his conditions and the severity of the situation.

"He lacked the expected affect that I would expect someone to have who is up against such grave allegations," stated one expert who assessed Jeffries.

"Rather, his manner during the assessment... was similar to we were having a meal at his home. There was no sign of anxiety."

Conflicting Neurological Diagnoses

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

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the moment of the 2018 fall and his medical records showed he continued drinking following being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general alcohol consumption had a major impact on his state.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was discovered in his underwear, unable to move, in a neighbor's yard.

Experts from a treatment facility testified that Jeffries was able after assessing him over several months in the facility.

They say his mental faculties did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is more capable and more functioning intellectually than probably 95% of the inmates that we assess for competency," stated one expert.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the courtroom, was described as lighthearted and rather personable during meetings in the facility, and was deliberately testing the limits, at times using familiar language.

They diagnosed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and suggested his testing scores may have gotten better since 2023 from low or deficient to typical because of abstinence from alcohol and better medication management during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Raise Concerns

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