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Ex- the fashion retailer top executive Mike Jeffries was taped saying to his UK-based partner that they'd be screwed and in grave danger if he was declared fit to go to trial on human trafficking allegations in the coming months, a US district court has been told.

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 legal competency session this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys assert that he is battling dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's disease and is unfit to be tried together with his partner and their accused intermediary in October.

In contrast, prosecutors contend their doctors determined his condition has improved and that the conversations demonstrate he is remarkably fixated on being found not competent.

In additional audio clips, Jeffries states he is wishing for a positive result, describing being deemed competent as a disaster, and says to a physician: you must rule me unfit, the Central Islip court learned.

Legal Hearings and Psychiatric Testimony

The calls were made last year while he was being treated for several months in a psychiatric facility at a correctional institution in North Carolina to determine if he could recover fitness.

The elderly defendant had in the past been deemed mentally incompetent last May but facility staff then announced in December that he was fit for proceedings after his hospital stay.

Prosecutors advised the court Jeffries repeatedly complained about life in jail and was caught on tape explaining to Smith how awful jail was, adding: which is why we must succeed.

The Case

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

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

Their detentions came after an exposé that uncovered the three had been at the heart of a sophisticated network recruiting young men for sex globally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after considering the statements of six experts - psychologists, specialists and brain specialists, including facility doctors - who were examined in court during the hearing.

'Disinhibited' Behaviour

A trio of medical witnesses for the defense, argue that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the after-effects of a brain trauma, likely dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries exhibits unfiltered and off-color behavior, which is part of a spectrum of cognitive symptoms.

Instances are Jeffries calling the prosecutor's psychologist a insult, praising her hair, informing another expert his clothing was badly made, and describing his partner Smith as a derogatory term, according to testimony.

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

"I can't go on trips without you," Jeffries was overheard telling Smith from jail.

Prosecutors argue this demonstrates his awareness that he would go free if he was ruled unfit and the case were dropped.

However, the defense's witnesses disagree, saying it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the gravity of the case.

"He lacked the normal affect that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such severe allegations," testified one forensic psychiatrist who reviewed Jeffries.

"Instead, his behavior throughout the assessment... was almost like we were having a meal at his home. There was no indication of anxiety."

Diverging Neurological Assessments

Testimony indicated there is data that Jeffries' decline began in 2013, when imaging showed brain shrinkage, which was accelerated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the time of the 2018 fall and his medical records showed he kept on drinking following being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general drinking had a decisive influence on his state.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and started hallucinating, with one incident in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, immobile, in a neighbor's yard.

Doctors from a prison hospital testified that Jeffries was competent after evaluating him over several months in the facility.

They assert his mental faculties did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an examination could be performed.

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is more capable and more capable cognitively than probably 95% of the individuals that we test for competency," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, wearing a suit and tie in the courtroom, was reported to be lighthearted and quite engaging during evaluations in the facility, and was deliberately testing the limits, on occasion using informal terms.

They assessed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and suggested his results may have improved since 2023 from low or deficient to normal because of stopping drinking and more consistent management of prescriptions during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Present Concerns

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