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Ex- the fashion retailer top executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape informing his British partner how they were screwed and in big trouble if he was deemed fit to stand trial on trafficking accusations this autumn, a federal court in NY has heard.

The audio were included in over 100 recorded calls between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith played during a lengthy fitness to stand trial proceeding this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers contend that he is coping with cognitive decline and the onset of the disease and is not competent to be tried together with his partner and their accused middleman in October.

However, government lawyers say their doctors determined his condition has gotten better and that the conversations show he is remarkably focused on being ruled not competent.

In additional recordings, Jeffries states he is hoping for a favorable ruling, characterizing being deemed competent as a catastrophe, and tells a medical professional: you must rule me incompetent, the court was told.

Court Proceedings and Psychiatric Testimony

The conversations were made the previous 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 recover fitness.

The 81-year-old had previously been found legally unfit previously but correctional authorities then declared in December that he was competent for trial following his hospital stay.

Government attorneys told the judge Jeffries frequently complained about prison conditions and was caught on tape telling to Smith how awful prison was, adding: so we must make this work.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were accused with running a worldwide human trafficking and prostitution operation in October 2024.

They have denied the allegations, which could result in a potential penalty of a life term.

Their arrests followed an investigation that uncovered the trio had been at the heart of a complex operation recruiting young men for sex globally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after considering the evidence of six experts - experts, psychiatrists and neurologists, including facility doctors - who were cross-examined in proceedings this week.

'Disinhibited' Behaviour

Several defense witnesses, testify that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the after-effects of a brain trauma, suspected a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries exhibits socially inappropriate and off-color behavior, which is consistent with a set of cognitive symptoms.

Examples are Jeffries referring to the prosecution's psychologist a cunning bitch, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and referring to his partner Smith as a dwarf, according to testimony.

He was also taped in minute detail on about 20 prison calls discussing his trips abroad for the next few months, even though having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

Prosecutors suggest this shows his recognition that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled incompetent and the case were dropped.

However, the defense's expert witnesses counter, arguing it instead underscores that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the gravity of the case.

"He lacked the expected reaction that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such severe allegations," testified one doctor who evaluated Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his demeanor throughout the evaluation... was as if we were having a meal at his home. There was no sign of distress."

Opposing Medical Assessments

Testimony indicated there is data that Jeffries' decline began in 2013, when imaging showed reduction in volume, which was exacerbated by a incident in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the moment of the 2018 fall and his history showed he persisted in drinking subsequent to being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall intake had a significant effect on his state.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and started hallucinating, with one incident in 2019 where he was found in his underwear, immobile, in a neighbour's garden.

Medical professionals from a prison hospital said that Jeffries was able after assessing him over several months in custody.

They say his cognitive abilities 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 experienced... he still is brighter and more capable cognitively than probably 95% of the patients that we evaluate for fitness," said one doctor.

Jeffries, dressed in a formal wear in the court, was reported to be lighthearted and rather charismatic during interactions in the facility, and was deliberately pushing boundaries, sometimes using disrespectful terms.

They assessed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and indicated his results may have gotten better since 2023 from borderline or impaired to normal because of stopping drinking and more consistent management of prescriptions during his evaluation.

109 Prison Calls Prompt Issues

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