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One-time the fashion retailer chief executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape informing his British partner how they were screwed and in deep trouble if he was found competent to face trial on human trafficking accusations later this year, a federal court in NY has learned.

The audio were among more than 100 phone calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith referred to during a lengthy fitness to stand trial hearing this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers argue that he is coping with dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's and is not competent to face trial alongside his partner and their alleged intermediary in October.

Nevertheless, government lawyers contend their doctors found his condition has improved and that the calls reveal he is extremely preoccupied on being ruled not competent.

In other audio clips, Jeffries states he is praying for a favorable ruling, characterizing being deemed competent as a calamity, and tells a physician: you had better declare me incompetent, the Central Islip court was told.

Judicial Proceedings and Health Testimony

The recordings were made the previous year while he was being treated for a period of months in a psychiatric facility at a federal prison in North Carolina to determine 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 able for trial after his treatment period.

The prosecution informed the court Jeffries repeatedly griped about incarceration and was caught on tape describing to Smith how terrible incarceration was, adding: that's why we have to succeed.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported go-between James Jacobson, 73, were accused with running a international human trafficking and prostitution operation in October 2024.

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

Their arrests were prompted by an exposé that showed the three had been at the centre of a elaborate network scouting men for sex globally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the evidence of multiple specialists - forensic psychologists, doctors and neurologists, including facility doctors - who were examined in court recently.

'Disinhibited' Conduct

A trio of medical witnesses for the defense, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the residual effects of a head injury, suspected Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries demonstrates disinhibited and improper behaviour, which is consistent with a set of cognitive symptoms.

Examples involve Jeffries calling the prosecution's psychologist a cunning bitch, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a midget, the court heard.

He was also taped in excruciating detail on about 20 jail conversations discussing his trips abroad for the next few months, notwithstanding having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors contend this indicates his recognition that he would go free if he was found incompetent and the charges were dismissed.

However, the defense's expert witnesses counter, stating it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the severity of the charges.

"There wasn't the appropriate emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such grave charges," said one forensic psychiatrist who reviewed Jeffries.

"Instead, his manner during the examination... was similar to we were having lunch at his home. There was no indication of distress."

Opposing Neurological Opinions

Reports indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration began in 2013, when scans showed brain shrinkage, which was worsened by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the time of the 2018 fall and his history showed he kept on drinking following being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical intake had a decisive influence on his condition.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and started having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, unable to move, in a neighbor's yard.

Experts from a prison hospital testified that Jeffries was fit after observing him over four months in prison.

They contend his intellectual functioning did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the deterioration that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is brighter and more capable cognitively than probably 95% of the inmates that we evaluate for fitness," stated one expert.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the hearing, was described as jovial and quite personable during meetings in prison, and was deliberately testing the limits, on occasion using informal address.

They diagnosed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and said his performance on tests may have risen since 2023 from borderline or impaired to average because of sobriety and more consistent management of prescriptions during his evaluation.

109 Jail Recordings Prompt Issues

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