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One-time Abercrombie & Fitch top executive Mike Jeffries was taped informing his associate that they were screwed and in grave danger if he was declared competent to face trial on human trafficking allegations later this year, a US district court has been told.

The recordings were included in in excess of 100 recorded calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith played during a lengthy mental competency hearing this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team assert that he is coping with dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to stand trial together with his partner and their purported facilitator in October.

In contrast, prosecutors argue their doctors concluded his health has stabilized and that the recordings reveal he is extremely fixated on being declared not competent.

In other tapes, Jeffries states he is hoping for a favorable ruling, labeling being found fit as a calamity, and says to a physician: you had better declare me unfit, the judge learned.

Legal Proceedings and Health Evidence

The conversations were recorded in the past year while he was being treated for several months in a treatment center at a correctional institution in North Carolina to assess if he could recover fitness.

The 81-year-old had previously been found legally unfit in May but prison officials then declared in December that he was able for proceedings following his treatment period.

Prosecutors advised the judge Jeffries often griped about prison conditions and was caught on tape explaining to Smith how terrible incarceration was, remarking: so we have to pull this off.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with running a global human trafficking and commercial sex operation in October 2024.

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

Their detentions came after an investigation that revealed the trio had been at the centre of a sophisticated network scouting men for sex around the world while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after considering the testimony of multiple specialists - experts, doctors and medical experts, including prison doctors - who were examined in court during the hearing.

'Inappropriate' Conduct

A trio of defence experts, maintain that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the lingering impact of a traumatic brain injury, likely dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries shows socially inappropriate and socially inappropriate behaviour, which is symptomatic of a set of symptoms.

Examples involve Jeffries calling the prosecution's expert witness a insult, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was badly made, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, they say.

He was also taped in excruciating detail on around 20 recorded calls discussing his travel itinerary for the near future, even though having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

The prosecution contend this indicates his recognition that he would go free if he was declared unfit and the case were dismissed.

In contrast, the defence's expert witnesses counter, stating it instead underscores that Jeffries does not remember his legal restrictions and the seriousness of the case.

"There wasn't the appropriate affect that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such serious charges," testified one expert who reviewed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his behavior throughout the examination... was similar to we were having a meal at his club. There was no sign of alarm."

Conflicting Medical Opinions

Reports indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration started in 2013, when imaging showed reduction in volume, which was worsened by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the time of the 2018 fall and his medical records showed he persisted in drinking after being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general drinking had a significant effect on his condition.

Following the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started having visions, with one episode in 2019 where he was found in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a nearby property.

Experts from a Federal Medical Center testified that Jeffries was competent after evaluating him over an extended period in custody.

They contend his intellectual functioning were not consistent with 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 suffered... he still is more capable and more capable intellectually than probably 95% of the inmates that we test for fitness," stated one expert.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the hearing, was described as lighthearted and fairly charismatic during meetings in the facility, and was intentionally being provocative, at times using disrespectful language.

They diagnosed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and suggested his performance on tests may have risen since 2023 from low or impaired to typical because of stopping drinking and improved medication management during his evaluation.

109 Recorded Conversations Present Questions

Central to assessing fitness is whether Jeffries understands the allegations against him, their consequences, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial