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One-time the fashion retailer top executive Mike Jeffries was recorded telling his British partner how they were finished and in big trouble if he was found fit to go to trial on trafficking accusations this autumn, a federal court in NY has learned.

The recordings were among more than 100 recorded calls between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith played during a lengthy fitness to stand trial proceeding recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team argue that he is battling dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to face trial alongside his partner and their accused middleman in October.

Nevertheless, government lawyers say their health professionals concluded his condition has improved and that the calls show he is extremely focused on being ruled incompetent.

In additional tapes, Jeffries says he is wishing for a positive result, characterizing being found fit as a calamity, and says to a medical professional: you better rule me incompetent, the court heard.

Judicial Hearings and Health Evidence

The conversations were taped in the past year while he was being evaluated for four months in a mental health unit at a correctional institution in North Carolina to assess if he could restore his faculties.

The octogenarian had previously been found not competent last May but correctional authorities then announced in December that he was fit for proceedings after his hospital stay.

Government attorneys informed the court Jeffries repeatedly griped about life in jail and was recorded explaining to Smith how horrible jail was, adding: which is why we got to make this work.

Background

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

They have denied the allegations, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Their being taken into custody came after an investigation that uncovered the group had been at the core of a sophisticated scheme recruiting individuals for sex around the world while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after reviewing the statements of six experts - experts, specialists and brain specialists, including prison doctors - who were examined in proceedings recently.

'Disinhibited' Conduct

Several medical witnesses for the defense, testify that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the lingering impact of a brain trauma, likely Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries demonstrates unfiltered and socially inappropriate behavior, which is symptomatic of a range of symptoms.

Examples are Jeffries calling the prosecutor's professional psychologist a insult, remarking on her hair, informing another expert his clothing was badly made, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, the court heard.

He was also taped in great detail on around 20 prison calls planning his travel itinerary for the coming months, notwithstanding having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

The prosecution argue this indicates his understanding that he would regain his freedom if he was declared incompetent and the indictment were dismissed.

Conversely, the defense's expert witnesses disagree, stating it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his legal restrictions 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 charges," stated one doctor who assessed Jeffries.

"Instead, his manner throughout the evaluation... was similar to we were having a chat at his country club. There was no indication of distress."

Opposing Psychiatric Assessments

Testimony indicated there is information that Jeffries' decline began in 2013, when scans showed mild atrophy, which was exacerbated by a incident in 2018.

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

After the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and started seeing things, with one episode in 2019 where he was found in his underwear, immobile, in a neighbour's garden.

Experts from a prison hospital said that Jeffries was fit after observing him over an extended period in prison.

They say his cognitive abilities 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 reduction that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is more capable and more capable mentally than probably 95% of the inmates that we evaluate for fitness," stated one expert.

Jeffries, dressed in a formal wear in the court, was reported to be lighthearted and fairly personable during interactions in the facility, and was intentionally testing the limits, on occasion using informal terms.

They diagnosed Jeffries with slight deficits and said his testing scores may have gotten better since 2023 from low or impaired to typical because of sobriety and more consistent treatment during his confinement.

109 Jail Recordings Prompt Concerns

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