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Former the fashion retailer CEO Mike Jeffries was recorded informing his associate how they were screwed and in grave danger if he was deemed fit to go to trial on trafficking accusations in the coming months, a New York federal court has heard.

The audio were part of over 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a four-day fitness to stand trial proceeding recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team argue that he is battling cognitive decline and late onset of Alzheimer's and is unfit to stand trial next to his partner and their alleged middleman in October.

However, prosecutors argue their health professionals determined his mental state has improved and that the recordings demonstrate he is remarkably focused on being declared incompetent.

In further recordings, Jeffries is heard saying he is wishing for a positive result, labeling being ruled able as a calamity, and instructs a physician: you must declare me incompetent, the Central Islip court was told.

Legal Process and Health Testimony

The recordings were recorded last year while he was being evaluated for several months in a treatment center at a federal prison in North Carolina to see if he could regain competency.

The elderly defendant had in the past been deemed mentally incompetent previously but facility staff then stated in December that he was fit for proceedings after his treatment period.

Prosecutors told the court Jeffries repeatedly griped about life in jail and was caught on tape telling to Smith how awful jail was, remarking: so we must pull this off.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their accused middleman James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with operating a worldwide sex trafficking and commercial sex business in October 2024.

They have denied the charges, which have a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Their detentions came after an investigation that uncovered the three had been at the centre of a complex operation sourcing individuals for sex around the world while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after reviewing the evidence of multiple specialists - psychologists, doctors and brain specialists, including correctional physicians - who were examined in proceedings during the hearing.

'Disinhibited' Conduct

A trio of medical witnesses for the defense, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the lingering impact of a head injury, likely Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

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

Instances are Jeffries calling the prosecutor's professional psychologist a insult, praising her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and referring to his partner Smith as a midget, according to testimony.

He was also recorded in excruciating detail on about 20 recorded calls planning his trips abroad for the coming months, notwithstanding having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

The prosecution suggest this demonstrates his recognition that he would regain his freedom if he was found unfit and the indictment were dropped.

Conversely, the defence's witnesses counter, arguing it instead points to that Jeffries fails to recall his court-ordered limits and the severity of the situation.

"I didn't see the appropriate affect that I would expect someone to have who is facing such severe allegations," said one forensic psychiatrist who reviewed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his behavior throughout the examination... was as if we were having lunch at his home. There was no indication of alarm."

Conflicting Medical Assessments

Testimony indicated there is data that Jeffries' decline commenced in 2013, when scans showed brain shrinkage, which was worsened by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the time of the 2018 incident and his medical records showed he kept on drinking following being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall drinking had a significant effect on his health.

After the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started seeing things, with one episode in 2019 where he was found in his underwear, incapacitated, in a neighbour's garden.

Experts from a treatment facility stated that Jeffries was fit after observing him over four months in custody.

They assert his intellectual functioning did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the deterioration that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is sharper and more able mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we assess for fitness," said one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the courtroom, was reported to be lighthearted and rather engaging during meetings in the facility, and was intentionally being provocative, on occasion using disrespectful address.

They assessed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and indicated his performance on tests may have improved since 2023 from borderline or deficient to normal because of abstinence from alcohol and improved management of prescriptions during his confinement.

109 Jail Recordings Present Questions

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