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Former A&F chief executive Mike Jeffries was taped saying to his associate how they are screwed and in deep trouble if he was declared able to go to trial on human trafficking accusations later this year, a US district court has heard.

The recordings were part of in excess of 100 telephone conversations between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith referred to during a lengthy mental competency hearing this week on Long Island.

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

Nevertheless, prosecutors say their health professionals determined his health has gotten better and that the calls reveal he is extremely fixated on being ruled incompetent.

In additional tapes, Jeffries says he is wishing for a positive result, describing being found fit as a calamity, and tells a doctor: you must find me incompetent, the court was told.

Judicial Process and Health Testimony

The calls were made last year while he was being evaluated for a period of months in a treatment center at a federal prison in North Carolina to assess if he could regain his faculties.

The octogenarian had earlier been ruled not competent in May but facility staff then declared in December that he was competent for proceedings subsequent to his evaluation.

Government attorneys advised the court Jeffries often griped about prison conditions and was heard telling to Smith how terrible prison was, adding: so we have to succeed.

Context

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

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

Their detentions followed an investigation that uncovered the three had been at the heart of a elaborate operation recruiting young men for sex globally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after reviewing the evidence of multiple specialists - forensic psychologists, doctors and neurologists, including facility doctors - who were examined in the courtroom during the hearing.

'Unrestrained' Conduct

A trio of defense witnesses, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the after-effects of a brain trauma, probable a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries demonstrates disinhibited and off-color behaviour, which is part of a spectrum of cognitive symptoms.

Examples involve Jeffries referring to the prosecution's expert witness a insult, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a derogatory term, the court heard.

He was also heard in excruciating detail on about 20 jail conversations discussing his trips abroad for the coming months, even though having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

The prosecution argue this shows his recognition that he would go free if he was ruled unfit and the indictment were dismissed.

However, the defence's medical experts counter, stating it instead highlights that Jeffries fails to recall his legal restrictions and the gravity of the case.

"There wasn't the normal emotional response that I would anticipate someone to have who is facing such grave charges," said one forensic psychiatrist who evaluated Jeffries.

"Instead, his manner throughout the examination... was as if we were having lunch at his club. There was no indication of anxiety."

Diverging Psychiatric Assessments

Testimony indicated there is information that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration started in 2013, when scans showed reduction in volume, which was accelerated by a incident in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the moment of the 2018 incident and his records showed he continued drinking subsequent to being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general alcohol consumption had a significant effect on his state.

Following the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and began having visions, with one episode in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, unable to move, in a nearby property.

Doctors from a prison hospital testified that Jeffries was competent after observing him over an extended period in prison.

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

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is more capable and more capable intellectually than probably 95% of the inmates that we assess for competency," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the courtroom, was reported to be jovial and fairly engaging during meetings in prison, and was deliberately testing the limits, on occasion using familiar address.

They found Jeffries with slight deficits and indicated his testing scores may have improved since 2023 from low or deficient to average because of stopping drinking and improved management of prescriptions during his confinement.

109 Prison Calls Prompt Concerns

Central to determining fitness is whether Jeffries understands the charges against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial