Lawyers say former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO has dementia
The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) has dementia and late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, his legal team said in a court document filed in New York.
Mike Jeffries’ attorneys have requested a hearing to determine whether he is mentally fit to stand trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
The 80-year-old man was arrested along with his partner in October and accused of running an international sex trafficking and prostitution business. Both men have pleaded innocent.
A so-called competency hearing is scheduled for June next year.
Mr Jefferies, who ran American apparel brand A&F for two decades, is accused of running a sex trafficking and prostitution ring from at least 2008-15.
US prosecutors allege she used her wealth, power and status to “traffick men for her sexual gratification”.And to the delight of his British partner Matthew Smith, 61.
He said the couple, along with middleman James Jacobson, 71, used force, fraud and coercion to coerce vulnerable, aspiring models into engaging in violent and exploitative sexual acts.
All three men have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have been released on bond.
The FBI launched an investigation last year after the BBC claimed Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith had sexually assaulted men at events around the world.
BBC investigationPublished in October 2023, found that the pair were at the center of a sophisticated operation involving a middleman who sought out young men for sex.
That same month, Mr Jeffries’s lawyer, Brian Bieber, said his client was examined several times by a neuropsychologist, who later made clinical findings that he was suffering from two types of dementia and possibly late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Was suffering from.
In a court filing, Mr. Bieber said that during an initial meeting last year the former fashion boss “didn’t look even close to a master’s degree-educated guy who just nine years ago was chief executive of a publicly traded company.” Was an officer”.
As a result, according to the document, Mr. Bieber questioned Mr. Jeffries’ ability to “reasonably assist” him in a potential factual and legal defense of the allegations against him.
The filing comes after Mr Jefferies’ legal team sought a competency hearing, which will now be held over two days on June 16 and 17, 2025.
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York declined to comment.
Mr Jeffries stepped down as CEO and chairman of A&F in 2014, leaving with a $25m (£19.9m) retirement package.
As well as the criminal case, A&F, Mr Jeffries and his partners are defending a civil lawsuit that accuses the retailer of funding a sex trafficking operation.
earlier this month, Mr. Jeffries sued A&F because it refused to pay his criminal defense costsArguing that the brand had agreed to indemnify him for all claims arising from his situation.
