Ex-Abercrombie CEO to Stand Trial for Sex Trafficking
A federal judge found Michael Jeffries mentally competent, despite defense arguments that dementia and Alzheimer's disease left him unfit.
Michael Jeffries, the former CEO of clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, is mentally competent to stand trial on charges of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution, a federal judge has ruled.
In a 157-page decision, U.S. District Judge Nusrat Choudhury of the Eastern District of New York found that Jeffries “clearly possesses a rational and factual understanding of the proceedings to adjudicate his criminal charges” and is a “reasonably intelligent person and skilled communicator who possesses a more than sufficient ability to consult with his lawyers.”
Jeffries’ attorneys had argued that the 82-year-old was unfit to stand trial due to dementia and late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, prompting Choudhury to order him hospitalized for a competency evaluation.
Choudhury reviewed testimony, medical expert reports, and 109 phone calls Jeffries made to his romantic partner, lawyers, and others while housed at a federal prison hospital in Butner, North Carolina. Those calls played a key role in her finding that he was competent to stand trial.
“His presentation and responses in evaluations following his commitment to Butner and his phone calls show that he understands the structure of the criminal legal system, courtroom procedures, the functions of the various participants, the nature and purpose of the proceedings, and key legal concepts,” Choudhury wrote, calling the phone conversations “particularly illuminating.”
“On the calls, Jeffries is a fluent conversational partner and shows that he has the ability to learn new information auditorily and to retrieve it days or weeks later, particularly where the subject is important to him,” she added.
She cited one call in which Jeffries told his partner, Matthew Smith, that he was concerned about going to trial and that, if convicted, “they’ll take all our money away.” In another, he said a trial “will be a disaster for us in terms of time, effort, money, every way you can say it.”
Brian Bieber, one of Jeffries’ attorneys, declined to discuss the ruling. In a statement sent to NBC News, The Guardian, and other outlets, he said, “We do not comment on the Judge’s rulings. The case, and all related issues, will be tried inside the courtroom — not in the media.”
Jeffries served as CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch from 1992 to 2014 and is credited with transforming the former wilderness outfitter into a prominent clothing brand for millennial mall shoppers in the late ’90s and early 2000s. The retailer cultivated a preppy, highly sexualized image, using black-and-white photographs of often-shirtless male models to draw customers into its stores.
In 2024, a decade after leaving the company, Jeffries was charged alongside Smith and alleged recruiter James Jacobson with operating a global sex trafficking and prostitution enterprise from 2008 to 2015. All three men have pleaded not guilty to one count of sex trafficking and 15 counts of interstate prostitution.
Prosecutors claim that Jeffries and Smith employed Jacobson to recruit, interview, and hire men to perform commercial sex acts for them. According to the indictment, the pair used their financial resources, Jeffries’ position as Abercrombie’s CEO, and a network of employees, contractors, and security professionals to operate an international sex trafficking and prostitution enterprise for their sexual gratification.
The indictment alleges that Jeffries and Smith paid for dozens of men to travel within the United States and abroad to engage in commercial sex acts with them and others at “sex events” described by prosecutors as drug-fueled sex parties.
Prosecutors say many of the victims were financially vulnerable aspiring models, including at least one who was 19 years old. Some had previously worked at Abercrombie stores or modeled for the company. They were led to believe that attending the events could result in modeling opportunities or advance their careers, but were not told what would be expected of them. Once there, they were made to believe that refusing to engage in certain sexual acts could harm their career prospects.
The indictment further alleges that victims were required to surrender their personal belongings, which were stored out of reach, and coerced into signing non-disclosure agreements barring them from discussing their experiences.
According to a 2024 U.S. Department of Justice press release, on more than one occasion when men did not or could not consent to sexual acts, Jeffries and Smith allegedly “violated the bodily integrity of the men by subjecting them, or continuing to subject them, to invasive sexual and violent contact by body parts and other objects.”
Prosecutors also claim Jeffries and Smith directed others to inject men, or personally injected them, with an “erection-inducing substance for the purpose of causing the men to engage in sex acts the men were incapable or unwilling to engage in.”
If convicted of sex trafficking, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life. The interstate prostitution charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Jeffries remains free on bond and is scheduled for a jury trial on Long Island in late October.
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