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One-time the fashion retailer chief executive Mike Jeffries was taped saying to his UK-based partner how they'd be in serious trouble and in grave danger if he was declared able to stand trial on human trafficking accusations in the coming months, a New York federal court has learned.

The recordings were among more than 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a four-day legal competency proceeding this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers assert that he is suffering with cognitive decline and late onset of the disease and is incapable to stand trial next to his partner and their alleged facilitator in October.

In contrast, the prosecution contend their medical experts concluded his health has gotten better and that the conversations show he is extremely preoccupied on being ruled incompetent.

In other recordings, Jeffries says he is praying for a favorable ruling, labeling being found fit as a catastrophe, and instructs a medical professional: you must declare me unfit, the court was told.

Legal Process and Psychiatric Testimony

The conversations were taped in the past year while he was being evaluated for four months in a psychiatric facility at a federal prison in North Carolina to assess if he could recover his faculties.

The 81-year-old had earlier been ruled legally unfit previously but correctional authorities then announced in December that he was able for trial following his hospital stay.

Prosecutors told the court Jeffries frequently complained about prison conditions and was heard telling to Smith how terrible prison was, adding: that's why we got to succeed.

The Case

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

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

Their arrests were prompted by an report that showed the three had been at the heart of a complex scheme sourcing individuals for sex globally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after weighing the testimony of six experts - psychologists, psychiatrists and brain specialists, including facility doctors - who were questioned in proceedings this week.

'Inappropriate' Behaviour

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

They testified that Jeffries exhibits disinhibited and off-color conduct, which is symptomatic of a set of dementia symptoms.

Reported incidents are Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's expert witness a derogatory term, praising her hair, informing another expert his clothing was badly made, and describing his partner Smith as a midget, the court heard.

He was also taped in excruciating detail on about 20 recorded calls discussing his travel itinerary for the near future, notwithstanding having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors suggest this shows his recognition that he would be released if he was found unfit and the indictment were dropped.

However, the defense's medical experts counter, arguing it instead underscores that Jeffries has forgotten his conditions and the severity of the case.

"I didn't see the expected affect that I would anticipate someone to have who is up against such severe allegations," testified one forensic psychiatrist who assessed Jeffries.

"Rather, his behavior throughout the examination... was as if we were having a meal at his country club. There was no sign of alarm."

Opposing Neurological Opinions

Evidence indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration began in 2013, when imaging showed mild atrophy, which was worsened by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the moment of the 2018 incident and his history showed he continued drinking following being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general intake had a major impact on his health.

After the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and started having visions, with one incident in 2019 where he was discovered in his underclothes, unable to move, in a neighbour's garden.

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

They contend his cognitive abilities did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is brighter and more able intellectually than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for fitness," stated one expert.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the hearing, was described as jovial and rather personable during interactions in prison, and was purposely being provocative, on occasion using disrespectful address.

They assessed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and suggested his testing scores may have gotten better since 2023 from low or deficient to average because of abstinence from alcohol and more consistent medication management during his stay.

109 Prison Calls Prompt Concerns

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