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One-time A&F top executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape telling his British partner how they'd be finished and in grave danger if he was deemed competent to go to trial on sex trafficking accusations later this year, a federal court in NY has heard.

The taped conversations were part of in excess of 100 phone calls between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith referred to during a lengthy fitness to stand trial proceeding recently on Long Island.

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

Nevertheless, government lawyers say their medical experts determined his condition has gotten better and that the conversations show he is extremely fixated on being ruled incompetent.

In other audio clips, Jeffries says he is hoping for a favorable ruling, characterizing being found fit as a catastrophe, and tells a doctor: you must rule me incompetent, the Central Islip court heard.

Judicial Hearings and Health Opinions

The conversations were taped in the past year while he was being treated for four months in a treatment center at a correctional institution in North Carolina to see if he could regain fitness.

The elderly defendant had previously been found legally unfit previously but facility staff then announced in December that he was able for proceedings subsequent to his treatment period.

The prosecution informed the judge Jeffries often griped about life in jail and was caught on tape explaining to Smith how horrible jail was, adding: which is why we have to pull this off.

The Case

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

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

Their detentions came after an report that revealed the three had been at the heart of a sophisticated operation recruiting individuals for sex internationally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after reviewing the testimony of multiple specialists - psychologists, psychiatrists and medical experts, including correctional physicians - who were questioned in court during the hearing.

'Unrestrained' Conduct

A trio of medical witnesses for the defense, argue that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the residual effects of a head injury, probable dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries shows disinhibited and off-color behavior, which is symptomatic of a range of dementia symptoms.

Reported incidents are Jeffries calling the prosecutor's professional psychologist a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, informing another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a derogatory term, the court heard.

He was also recorded in minute detail on about 20 prison calls planning his trips abroad for the near future, even though having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

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

Conversely, the defence's medical experts counter, saying it instead highlights that Jeffries fails to recall his court-ordered limits and the severity of the charges.

"He lacked the expected affect that I would anticipate someone to have who is up against such serious charges," said one forensic psychiatrist who evaluated Jeffries.

"Instead, his demeanor during the examination... was similar to we were having lunch at his club. There was no indication of alarm."

Diverging Neurological Diagnoses

Testimony indicated there is information that Jeffries' decline started in 2013, when imaging showed reduction in volume, which was accelerated by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the time of the 2018 fall and his history showed he kept on drinking after being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical intake had a decisive influence on his state.

Following the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was found in his underwear, immobile, in a nearby property.

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

They assert his cognitive abilities 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 experienced... he still is sharper and more capable intellectually than probably 95% of the inmates that we evaluate for competency," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the courtroom, was described as lighthearted and fairly engaging during evaluations in prison, and was intentionally pushing boundaries, on occasion using disrespectful terms.

They diagnosed Jeffries with slight deficits and suggested his testing scores may have gotten better since 2023 from borderline or deficient to normal because of abstinence from alcohol and improved medication management during his evaluation.

109 Prison Calls Raise Concerns

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