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One-time the fashion retailer chief executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape saying to his UK-based partner how they were finished and in deep trouble if he was deemed competent to go to trial on human trafficking allegations later this year, a US district court has learned.

The taped conversations were included in in excess of 100 recorded calls between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith referred to during a lengthy mental competency hearing this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team assert that he is suffering with cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's and is unfit to stand trial next to his partner and their alleged middleman in October.

Nevertheless, the prosecution contend their health professionals determined his condition has stabilized and that the recordings reveal he is extremely preoccupied on being declared not competent.

In additional audio clips, Jeffries is heard saying he is praying for a favorable ruling, labeling being ruled able as a calamity, and instructs a medical professional: you better declare me unfit, the court heard.

Legal Process and Psychiatric Opinions

The recordings were made the previous year while he was being evaluated for four months in a mental health unit at a US prison in North Carolina to determine if he could restore fitness.

The elderly defendant had earlier been ruled mentally incompetent last May but prison officials then stated in December that he was able for trial following his evaluation.

The prosecution told the court Jeffries frequently protested incarceration and was heard telling to Smith how horrible prison was, stating: which is why we have to succeed.

The Case

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

They have denied the charges, which carry a potential penalty of life in prison.

Their arrests were prompted by an investigation that showed the trio had been at the centre of a complex operation scouting individuals for sex around the world while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after weighing the statements of several professionals - forensic psychologists, specialists and neurologists, including facility doctors - who were examined in proceedings recently.

'Disinhibited' Conduct

Three defense witnesses, argue that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the lingering impact of a head injury, likely Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries exhibits disinhibited and improper behavior, which is symptomatic of a spectrum of cognitive symptoms.

Reported incidents involve Jeffries calling the prosecution's professional psychologist a cunning bitch, complimenting her hair, informing another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a derogatory term, they say.

He was also recorded in great detail on around 20 recorded calls planning his trips abroad for the near future, even though having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

Prosecutors argue this demonstrates his recognition that he would go free if he was declared unfit and the charges were dropped.

In contrast, the defence's witnesses have a different view, arguing it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the severity of the case.

"I didn't see the normal emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is up against such grave charges," testified one expert who reviewed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his behavior during the evaluation... was similar to we were having lunch at his country club. There was no indication of distress."

Conflicting Medical Assessments

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

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the time of the 2018 incident and his records showed he continued drinking following being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical alcohol consumption had a major impact on his state.

Following the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was discovered in his underwear, unable to move, in a nearby property.

Doctors from a Federal Medical Center stated that Jeffries was competent after assessing him over an extended period in custody.

They say his intellectual functioning did not match 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 more capable and more capable intellectually than probably 95% of the inmates that we test for competency," stated one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the courtroom, was described as jovial and fairly engaging during interactions in prison, and was intentionally being provocative, at times using disrespectful terms.

They diagnosed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and said his results may have gotten better since 2023 from borderline or deficient to average because of abstinence from alcohol and more consistent treatment during his confinement.

109 Recorded Conversations Present Issues

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