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Former the fashion retailer top executive Mike Jeffries was recorded saying to his associate that they were finished and in deep trouble if he was deemed able to go to trial on human trafficking accusations in the coming months, a US district court has been told.

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

Jeffries' legal team assert that he is battling cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's disease and is not competent to stand trial alongside his partner and their accused facilitator in October.

Nevertheless, the prosecution argue their medical experts found his health has improved and that the calls demonstrate he is remarkably fixated on being ruled not competent.

In other tapes, Jeffries states he is hoping for a good outcome, describing being deemed competent as a calamity, and instructs a physician: you must rule me unfit, the Central Islip court was told.

Judicial Proceedings and Medical Testimony

The conversations were made last year while he was being treated for several months in a psychiatric facility at a US prison in North Carolina to determine if he could regain competency.

The 81-year-old had earlier been ruled legally unfit last May but prison officials then stated in December that he was fit for trial subsequent to his hospital stay.

Government attorneys told the judge Jeffries frequently protested life in jail and was heard describing to Smith how terrible prison was, adding: so we have to succeed.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported middleman James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with orchestrating a international human trafficking and prostitution operation in October 2024.

They have denied the accusations, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Their being taken into custody followed an report that uncovered the trio had been at the core of a sophisticated scheme sourcing individuals for sex internationally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the statements of six experts - forensic psychologists, doctors and neurologists, including facility doctors - who were questioned in the courtroom this week.

'Disinhibited' Behavior

Three defence experts, maintain that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the after-effects of a brain trauma, probable Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries shows disinhibited and socially inappropriate conduct, which is part of a set of dementia symptoms.

Examples are Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's psychologist a insult, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, the court heard.

He was also heard in great detail on approximately 20 jail conversations planning his international travel plans for the near future, even though having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors contend this indicates his understanding that he would be released if he was found unfit and the case were dismissed.

However, the defense's witnesses counter, stating it instead highlights that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the gravity of the situation.

"I didn't see the appropriate reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such serious charges," said one expert who assessed Jeffries.

"Rather, his manner throughout the evaluation... was similar to we were having a meal at his country club. There was no indication of alarm."

Opposing Medical Opinions

Reports indicated there is information that Jeffries' decline started in 2013, when tests showed mild atrophy, which was accelerated by a incident in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 fall and his history showed he continued drinking subsequent to being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall drinking had a major impact on his health.

Following the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began hallucinating, with one incident in 2019 where he was found in his underclothes, immobile, in a nearby property.

Doctors from a Federal Medical Center stated that Jeffries was able after observing him over several months in custody.

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 reduction that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is more capable and more able mentally than probably 95% of the patients that we test for fitness," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the hearing, was reported to be cheerful and rather engaging during meetings in the facility, and was deliberately testing the limits, on occasion using informal address.

They found Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and indicated his testing scores may have risen since 2023 from low or impaired to typical because of stopping drinking and improved treatment during his confinement.

109 Prison Calls Present Issues

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