Ex-Abercrombie CEO unfit for trial on sex trafficking charges, judge rules

The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch is mentally unfit to stand trial on charges he and two others operated a secretive, international sex trafficking scheme, a federal judge ruled on May 2.

Michael Jeffries, 80, who served as CEO of the clothing company from 1992 to 2014, along with Matthew Smith, 61, and James Jacobson, 71, were arrested in October 2024 in what prosecutors said was an organized interstate prostitution enterprise that involved transporting young, aspiring male models to events in New York and other places around the world and coercing them into having sex.

Jeffries' attorneys said in April that he had dementia and would be unable to stand trial, prompting Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury of the Eastern District of New York to order a competency hearing. Choudhury ruled on May 2 that Jeffries was mentally unfit and will be hospitalized for treatment and re-evaluated for up to four months.

Legal representation for Jeffries previously "vehemently denied" any wrongdoing, according to the BBC.

Two forensic psychologists said in an April court filing that Jeffries has Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia and is suffering from residual effects of a traumatic brain injury, the Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.

In the filing, Dr. Cheryl Paradis said said Jeffries' conditions make him unable to recall key events, and he can’t understand the charges against him or the legal consequences. Jeffries' attorneys claimed his condition makes it unlikely he will ever be able to stand trial because of the degenerative nature of his condition.