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Former Abercrombie & Fitch top executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape saying to his UK-based partner how they'd be finished and in big trouble if he was deemed competent to go to trial on trafficking allegations in the coming months, a federal court in NY has been told.

The taped conversations were included in more than 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith referred to during a multi-day fitness to stand trial session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys assert that he is suffering with dementia and the onset of Alzheimer's and is not competent to be tried alongside his partner and their accused facilitator in October.

In contrast, government lawyers contend their medical experts determined his condition has improved and that the recordings demonstrate he is incredibly fixated on being ruled incompetent.

In other recordings, Jeffries states he is praying for a positive result, labeling being deemed competent as a disaster, and instructs a medical professional: you better declare me unfit, the court learned.

Court Hearings and Medical Opinions

The conversations were taped in the past year while he was being held for several months in a treatment center at a US prison in North Carolina to see if he could regain fitness.

The octogenarian had in the past been deemed mentally incompetent previously but correctional authorities then announced in December that he was competent for proceedings after his evaluation.

Government attorneys advised the court Jeffries often complained about life in jail and was heard telling to Smith how awful prison was, remarking: which is why we got to pull this off.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were accused with orchestrating a international trafficking and prostitution operation in October 2024.

They have pleaded not guilty the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Their arrests followed an exposé that revealed the group had been at the heart of a complex operation recruiting individuals for sex internationally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the statements of several professionals - forensic psychologists, specialists and neurologists, including correctional physicians - who were questioned in court this week.

'Disinhibited' Behaviour

A trio of medical witnesses for the defense, argue that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the lingering impact of a traumatic brain injury, probable Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries exhibits socially inappropriate and socially inappropriate behavior, which is part of a spectrum of cognitive symptoms.

Instances are Jeffries calling the prosecution's professional psychologist a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, according to testimony.

He was also heard in excruciating detail on around 20 recorded calls discussing his international travel plans for the near future, even though having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors contend this indicates his understanding that he would regain his freedom if he was found incompetent and the case were dismissed.

Conversely, the defense's witnesses have a different view, stating it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the gravity of the situation.

"I didn't see the normal reaction that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such severe allegations," testified one expert who evaluated Jeffries.

"Rather, his demeanor throughout the evaluation... was almost like we were having a chat at his home. There was no indication of anxiety."

Opposing Neurological Diagnoses

Testimony indicated there is information that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration began in 2013, when scans showed mild atrophy, which was exacerbated by a incident in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 event and his history showed he continued drinking following being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical alcohol consumption had a significant effect on his state.

Following the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and began hallucinating, with one event in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, immobile, in a neighbour's garden.

Experts from a Federal Medical Center stated that Jeffries was fit after evaluating him over several months in custody.

They assert his intellectual functioning did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an examination could be performed.

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

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the hearing, was reported to be lighthearted and rather charismatic during interactions in prison, and was deliberately testing the limits, on occasion using disrespectful address.

They diagnosed Jeffries with slight deficits and said his results may have gotten better since 2023 from low or deficient to typical because of sobriety and better treatment during his stay.

109 Prison Calls Prompt Issues

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