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Ex- the fashion retailer top executive Mike Jeffries was recorded telling his British partner that they were in serious trouble and in grave danger if he was declared fit to face trial on sex trafficking charges this autumn, a federal court in NY has heard.

The recordings were part of over 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a multi-day mental competency session this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team contend that he is suffering with dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to be tried alongside his partner and their purported intermediary in October.

However, the prosecution contend their doctors found his condition has stabilized and that the calls demonstrate he is incredibly preoccupied on being found incompetent.

In further audio clips, Jeffries is heard saying he is wishing for a good outcome, describing being found fit as a disaster, and tells a doctor: you better find me unfit, the Central Islip court learned.

Court Proceedings and Psychiatric Opinions

The recordings were recorded the previous year while he was being treated for four months in a mental health unit at a US prison in North Carolina to see if he could recover fitness.

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

Government attorneys informed the judge Jeffries frequently protested incarceration and was recorded telling to Smith how horrible jail was, stating: so we have to succeed.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged middleman James Jacobson, 73, were accused with operating a global sex trafficking and prostitution enterprise in October 2024.

They have entered not guilty pleas the allegations, which could result in a maximum sentence of a life term.

Their arrests followed an report that showed the trio had been at the heart of a complex scheme recruiting individuals for sex internationally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the evidence of multiple specialists - forensic psychologists, psychiatrists and brain specialists, including prison doctors - who were examined in proceedings during the hearing.

'Inappropriate' Behaviour

Three medical witnesses for the defense, maintain that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the lingering impact of a head injury, suspected a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries shows unfiltered and off-color conduct, which is part of a set of cognitive symptoms.

Examples include Jeffries calling the prosecution's expert witness a cunning bitch, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was badly made, and referring to his partner Smith as a dwarf, the court heard.

He was also heard in excruciating detail on around 20 prison calls talking about his trips abroad for the near future, despite having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

The prosecution suggest this indicates his understanding that he would be released if he was found unfit and the case were dismissed.

In contrast, the defence's medical experts counter, arguing it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his legal restrictions and the gravity of the charges.

"There wasn't the normal reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is facing such grave allegations," said one doctor who reviewed Jeffries.

"Rather, his behavior during the evaluation... was as if we were having a chat at his country club. There was no sign of distress."

Conflicting Medical Assessments

Reports indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration started in 2013, when scans showed reduction in volume, 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 persisted in drinking following being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall alcohol consumption had a major impact on his health.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and started hallucinating, with one incident in 2019 where he was discovered in his underclothes, immobile, in a neighbor's yard.

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

They contend his cognitive abilities did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is brighter and more able cognitively than probably 95% of the inmates that we evaluate for fitness," stated one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the court, was described as lighthearted and quite personable during interactions in prison, and was deliberately pushing boundaries, sometimes using disrespectful address.

They assessed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and said his results may have gotten better since 2023 from low or deficient to average because of sobriety and improved management of prescriptions during his evaluation.

109 Recorded Conversations Prompt Concerns

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