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Former the fashion retailer CEO Mike Jeffries was taped informing his British partner that they are in serious trouble and in big trouble if he was deemed competent to go to trial on trafficking accusations in the coming months, a New York federal court has heard.

The audio were included in in excess of 100 telephone conversations between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith referred to during a four-day fitness to stand trial proceeding this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team contend that he is battling cognitive decline and late onset of Alzheimer's disease and is incapable to face trial together with his partner and their purported middleman in October.

However, government lawyers say their health professionals concluded his health has improved and that the calls reveal he is extremely fixated on being ruled incompetent.

In additional recordings, Jeffries says he is hoping for a favorable ruling, describing being deemed competent as a disaster, and tells a doctor: you must rule me unfit, the Central Islip court was told.

Legal Hearings and Medical Testimony

The recordings were taped last year while he was being evaluated for four months in a treatment center at a federal prison in North Carolina to see if he could recover fitness.

The octogenarian had previously been found not competent previously but correctional authorities then stated in December that he was fit for proceedings subsequent to his hospital stay.

Government attorneys informed the court Jeffries often protested life in jail and was recorded explaining to Smith how awful prison was, stating: that's why we got to make this work.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their accused go-between James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with orchestrating a international sex trafficking and prostitution enterprise in October 2024.

They have denied the charges, which could result in a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Their being taken into custody came after an report that showed the trio had been at the centre of a elaborate scheme recruiting individuals for sex internationally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after considering the testimony of multiple specialists - forensic psychologists, specialists and brain specialists, including prison doctors - who were cross-examined in court recently.

'Inappropriate' Behavior

Several defense witnesses, maintain that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the residual effects of a traumatic brain injury, likely a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries demonstrates unfiltered and socially inappropriate behaviour, which is part of a set of cognitive symptoms.

Instances include Jeffries calling the prosecution's psychologist a cunning bitch, remarking on her hair, informing another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, they say.

He was also heard in minute detail on around 20 recorded calls discussing his international travel plans for the near future, despite having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

Prosecutors contend this indicates his awareness that he would regain his freedom if he was declared unfit and the indictment were dismissed.

In contrast, the defence's expert witnesses have a different view, stating it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his legal restrictions and the gravity of the charges.

"I didn't see the appropriate reaction that I would expect someone to have who is up against such serious allegations," said one forensic psychiatrist who evaluated Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his manner throughout the evaluation... was almost like we were having a meal at his club. There was no sign of anxiety."

Opposing Neurological Opinions

Evidence indicated there is information that Jeffries' decline started in 2013, when imaging showed mild atrophy, which was accelerated by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the moment of the 2018 incident and his records showed he continued drinking subsequent to being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical intake had a decisive influence on his condition.

After the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began seeing things, with one episode in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, unable to move, in a nearby property.

Medical professionals from a treatment facility said that Jeffries was competent after observing him over four months in custody.

They contend his cognitive abilities did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is brighter and more capable cognitively than probably 95% of the patients that we evaluate for fitness," stated one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a suit and tie in the hearing, was described as jovial and quite engaging during interactions in the facility, and was intentionally pushing boundaries, sometimes using informal language.

They found Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and said his performance on tests may have improved since 2023 from borderline or deficient to average because of abstinence from alcohol and better treatment during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Raise Questions

Central to determining competency is whether Jeffries comprehends the allegations against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial