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Ex- A&F top executive Mike Jeffries was recorded telling his UK-based partner how they are in serious trouble and in deep trouble if he was deemed fit to stand trial on trafficking accusations in the coming months, a federal court in NY has heard.

The recordings were included in more than 100 phone calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith referred to during a four-day mental competency session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers contend that he is coping with cognitive decline and the onset of the disease and is not competent to be tried alongside his partner and their accused middleman in October.

However, government lawyers argue their medical experts found his condition has stabilized and that the recordings demonstrate he is remarkably preoccupied on being ruled not competent.

In additional recordings, Jeffries is heard saying he is praying for a favorable ruling, labeling being ruled able as a catastrophe, and tells a doctor: you had better rule me unfit, the Central Islip court learned.

Judicial Process and Medical Opinions

The recordings were recorded in the past year while he was being evaluated for several months in a treatment center at a federal prison in North Carolina to assess if he could recover his faculties.

The octogenarian had previously been found legally unfit last May but correctional authorities then declared in December that he was able for trial after his evaluation.

Prosecutors advised the court Jeffries frequently complained about life in jail and was caught on tape telling to Smith how terrible prison was, remarking: which is why we have to pull this off.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their accused middleman James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with orchestrating a worldwide trafficking and prostitution operation in October 2024.

They have denied the charges, which carry a potential penalty of a life term.

Their detentions were prompted by an investigation that showed the group had been at the centre of a complex scheme recruiting individuals for sex around the world while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after weighing the statements of multiple specialists - forensic psychologists, specialists and neurologists, including correctional physicians - who were cross-examined in court during the hearing.

'Inappropriate' Behaviour

Several medical witnesses for the defense, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the residual effects of a traumatic brain injury, likely dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

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

Reported incidents involve Jeffries referring to the prosecution's professional psychologist a derogatory term, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was badly made, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, they say.

He was also heard in excruciating detail on around 20 jail conversations talking about his international travel plans for the coming months, despite having been on house arrest since 2024.

"I wouldn't want to go on trips without you," Jeffries was heard telling Smith from prison.

The prosecution suggest this demonstrates his recognition that he would go free if he was declared unfit and the case were dropped.

Conversely, the defense's medical experts have a different view, arguing it instead underscores that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the severity of the case.

"I didn't see the expected emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is facing such severe charges," stated one doctor who evaluated Jeffries.

"Instead, his demeanor during the evaluation... was almost like we were having a meal at his club. There was no sign of alarm."

Opposing Neurological Assessments

Reports indicated there is data that Jeffries' decline started in 2013, when scans showed mild atrophy, which was accelerated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the moment of the 2018 incident and his medical records showed he continued drinking after being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall alcohol consumption had a decisive influence on his health.

Following the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and began having visions, with one episode in 2019 where he was found in his underwear, incapacitated, in a neighbor's yard.

Medical professionals from a Federal Medical Center said that Jeffries was fit after observing him over several months in custody.

They contend his mental faculties did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an examination could be performed.

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is more capable and more capable intellectually than probably 95% of the patients that we evaluate for competency," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a formal wear in the hearing, was reported to be cheerful and fairly charismatic during evaluations in the facility, and was purposely being provocative, at times using disrespectful language.

They diagnosed Jeffries with slight deficits and said his performance on tests may have gotten better since 2023 from borderline or impaired to normal because of sobriety and better treatment during his evaluation.

109 Jail Recordings Raise Questions

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