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Ex- the fashion retailer chief executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape telling his associate that they are screwed and in deep trouble if he was found able to stand trial on sex trafficking charges later this year, a federal court in NY has learned.

The recordings were part of more than 100 telephone conversations between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith played during a multi-day legal competency session recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys contend that he is suffering with cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's disease and is unfit to be tried next to his partner and their purported facilitator in October.

However, government lawyers argue their doctors found his mental state has gotten better and that the recordings show he is remarkably fixated on being found unfit.

In other tapes, Jeffries says he is wishing for a positive result, describing being ruled able as a calamity, and instructs a physician: you must rule me unfit, the Central Islip court was told.

Legal Hearings and Medical Evidence

The calls were recorded the previous year while he was being treated for several months in a psychiatric facility at a correctional institution in North Carolina to determine if he could restore competency.

The elderly defendant had earlier been ruled mentally incompetent previously but prison officials then announced in December that he was able for trial after his evaluation.

Government attorneys informed the judge Jeffries frequently complained about incarceration and was caught on tape describing to Smith how horrible incarceration was, remarking: that's why we got to pull this off.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their accused intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were accused with orchestrating a global human trafficking and prostitution enterprise in October 2024.

They have entered not guilty pleas the allegations, which could result in a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

Their arrests followed an report that showed the trio had been at the core of a elaborate network scouting young men for sex internationally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after reviewing the statements of six experts - experts, psychiatrists and neurologists, including correctional physicians - who were examined in court recently.

'Disinhibited' Behavior

Several defense witnesses, maintain that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the after-effects of a head injury, suspected a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries exhibits unfiltered and off-color conduct, which is symptomatic of a range of cognitive symptoms.

Instances include Jeffries calling the prosecutor's expert witness a cunning bitch, complimenting her hair, informing another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and referring to his partner Smith as a midget, the court heard.

He was also heard in excruciating detail on approximately 20 jail conversations planning his travel itinerary for the next few months, despite having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

Prosecutors suggest this indicates his awareness that he would regain his freedom if he was declared unfit and the case were dropped.

In contrast, the defense's medical experts counter, stating it instead highlights that Jeffries fails to recall his court-ordered limits and the severity of the charges.

"There wasn't the expected reaction that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such grave allegations," stated one forensic psychiatrist who reviewed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his demeanor during the examination... was as if we were having lunch at his club. There was no sign of distress."

Opposing Neurological Diagnoses

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

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the time of the 2018 event and his medical records showed he continued drinking subsequent to being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general alcohol consumption had a major impact on his health.

Following the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and began seeing things, with one incident in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, unable to move, in a nearby property.

Doctors from a prison hospital stated that Jeffries was able after evaluating him over several months in custody.

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

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is sharper and more capable cognitively than probably 95% of the individuals that we test for competency," said one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a formal wear in the courtroom, was reported to be lighthearted and rather charismatic during evaluations in prison, and was deliberately testing the limits, sometimes using familiar language.

They assessed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and suggested his results may have risen since 2023 from low or deficient to normal because of stopping drinking and more consistent medication management during his confinement.

109 Recorded Conversations Prompt Concerns

Central to establishing competency is whether Jeffries understands the allegations against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial