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One-time A&F top executive Mike Jeffries was recorded informing his British partner how they are finished and in big trouble if he was declared fit to face trial on human trafficking charges later this year, a US district court has learned.

The audio were among in excess of 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith cited during a lengthy mental competency hearing this week on Long Island.

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

However, prosecutors argue their health professionals concluded his mental state has stabilized and that the calls show he is incredibly preoccupied on being ruled not competent.

In further audio clips, Jeffries says he is praying for a positive result, describing being found fit as a disaster, and tells a physician: you had better declare me incompetent, the court was told.

Court Process and Medical Evidence

The conversations were made last year while he was being treated for several months in a mental health unit at a US prison in North Carolina to see if he could regain competency.

The 81-year-old had earlier been ruled legally unfit in May but prison officials then stated in December that he was fit for proceedings following his hospital stay.

Government attorneys advised the judge Jeffries frequently griped about prison conditions and was heard describing to Smith how awful incarceration was, remarking: that's why we have to succeed.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were accused with operating a international sex trafficking and prostitution business in October 2024.

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

Their arrests came after an report that uncovered the trio had been at the centre of a elaborate operation sourcing men for sex internationally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after reviewing the statements of six experts - forensic psychologists, psychiatrists and brain specialists, including correctional physicians - who were cross-examined in the courtroom this week.

'Unrestrained' Behavior

A trio of defense witnesses, testify that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the after-effects of a traumatic brain injury, probable Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries demonstrates disinhibited and off-color behavior, which is part of a set of symptoms.

Instances are Jeffries calling the prosecution's expert witness a insult, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a midget, according to testimony.

He was also recorded in minute detail on approximately 20 recorded calls talking about his international travel plans for the next few months, despite having been on house arrest since 2024.

"I don't want to go on trips without you," Jeffries was heard saying to Smith from jail.

The prosecution contend this shows his understanding that he would regain his freedom if he was found unfit and the indictment were dismissed.

However, the defence's medical experts counter, saying it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the gravity of the case.

"I didn't see the appropriate reaction that I would expect someone to have who is facing such serious charges," stated one forensic psychiatrist who reviewed Jeffries.

"Instead, his manner during the examination... was almost like we were having lunch at his country club. There was no indication of distress."

Conflicting Neurological Assessments

Reports indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration began in 2013, when imaging showed brain shrinkage, which was accelerated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 incident and his medical records showed he persisted in drinking subsequent to being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall intake had a major impact on his condition.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started seeing things, with one episode in 2019 where he was located in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a nearby property.

Doctors from a Federal Medical Center stated that Jeffries was fit after evaluating him over an extended period in the facility.

They say 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 brighter and more functioning mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for fitness," stated one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a formal wear in the courtroom, was described as jovial and fairly charismatic during evaluations in the facility, and was purposely testing the limits, at times using informal address.

They assessed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and said his testing scores may have risen since 2023 from borderline or impaired to normal because of sobriety and improved medication management during his stay.

109 Recorded Conversations Raise Issues

Fundamental to assessing fitness is whether Jeffries comprehends the charges against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial