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Former the fashion retailer top executive Mike Jeffries was recorded informing his associate how they'd be screwed and in big trouble if he was deemed fit to stand trial on trafficking allegations later this year, a New York federal court has heard.

The recordings were part of in excess of 100 recorded calls between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith cited during a four-day mental competency session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys argue that he is coping with cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to stand trial alongside his partner and their purported middleman in October.

Nevertheless, the prosecution contend their doctors concluded his mental state has stabilized and that the conversations reveal he is remarkably fixated on being found unfit.

In additional audio clips, Jeffries states he is wishing for a favorable ruling, describing being ruled able as a catastrophe, and tells a physician: you must declare me unfit, the court learned.

Judicial Hearings and Health Testimony

The conversations were made last year while he was being evaluated for four months in a psychiatric facility at a US prison in North Carolina to assess if he could recover competency.

The 81-year-old had previously been found mentally incompetent last May but facility staff then announced in December that he was fit for trial after his hospital stay.

Government attorneys informed the judge Jeffries frequently protested prison conditions and was caught on tape describing to Smith how terrible incarceration was, stating: which is why we have to pull this off.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported middleman James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with operating a worldwide trafficking and prostitution enterprise in October 2024.

They have entered not guilty pleas the allegations, which carry a potential penalty of life in prison.

Their detentions came after an investigation that uncovered the group had been at the centre of a sophisticated scheme sourcing men for sex internationally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after considering the statements of several professionals - psychologists, psychiatrists and brain specialists, including prison doctors - who were examined in court recently.

'Unrestrained' Conduct

Several defence experts, testify that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the residual effects of a traumatic brain injury, probable a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries shows unfiltered and off-color behaviour, which is part of a range of cognitive symptoms.

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

He was also recorded in excruciating detail on about 20 jail conversations planning his travel itinerary for the near future, even though having been on house arrest since 2024.

"I can't go on trips without you," Jeffries was heard saying to Smith from prison.

Prosecutors suggest this demonstrates his understanding that he would be released if he was declared incompetent and the charges were dismissed.

However, the defence's expert witnesses have a different view, arguing it instead points to that Jeffries fails to recall his legal restrictions and the seriousness of the charges.

"He lacked the expected reaction that I would expect someone to have who is up against such severe charges," stated one expert who reviewed Jeffries.

"Rather, his manner during the examination... was almost like we were having a meal at his country club. There was no sense of distress."

Opposing Psychiatric Opinions

Reports indicated there is information that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration began in 2013, when scans showed mild atrophy, which was exacerbated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the time of the 2018 incident and his history showed he persisted in drinking following being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical intake had a decisive influence on his health.

Following the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started having visions, with one episode in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, immobile, in a neighbour's garden.

Medical professionals from a Federal Medical Center said that Jeffries was fit after evaluating him over four months in the facility.

They contend his intellectual functioning 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 deterioration that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is more capable and more able mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for fitness," said one expert.

Jeffries, dressed in a formal wear in the court, was reported to be jovial and rather personable during meetings in the facility, and was intentionally being provocative, on occasion using familiar terms.

They assessed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and indicated his results may have improved since 2023 from borderline or deficient to typical because of abstinence from alcohol and improved management of prescriptions during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Raise Issues

Fundamental to establishing fitness is whether Jeffries grasps the allegations against him, their implications, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial