Victims’ attorney questions former Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries’ dementia

On By Littum

A lawyer for victims of a sex-trafficking scheme allegedly run by former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, 80, is taking issue with claims he has Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and cannot stand trial.

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A lawyer representing once aspiring male models trafficked for sex in an international scheme allegedly orchestrated by former Abercrombie & Fitch boss Mike Jeffries is questioning claims the 80-year-old has dementia and cannot stand trial the court.

Jeffries stands with two others accused of the scheme, which forced dozens of men to have sex with the hope of landing modeling jobs with the company. He and Abercrombie also face a class action lawsuit from victims who claim the retailer knew about the operation and looked the other way.

“The timing of Mike Jeffries’ alleged health problems is suspicious, to say the least,” Brad Edwards, an attorney for the victims, told USA TODAY on Wednesday, noting that it appears he only saw a doctor after consulting with his defense attorney on sex charges.

“My clients are following this closely and we intend to provide information to law enforcement relevant to this jurisdictional issue,” Edwards said. “We will hold everyone accountable for the heinous crimes committed against these many young men.”

Prosecutors say the operation lasted years, cost millions of dollars and involved dozens of victims, according to court documents.

Edwards’ comments come after the former CEO’s lawyers said in a lawsuit Monday that a neuropsychologist diagnosed Jeffries with Lewy Body Dementia and late-onset Alzheimer’s. Jeffries ran the clothing company from 1992 to 2014. He was arrested and charged in October.

Jeffries’ attorney Brian Bieber wrote in court filings Monday that he began to question the former CEO’s “attention, focus, competence and understanding” in early meetings in the sex-trafficking case. A neuropsychologist then diagnosed Jeffries with the neurodegenerative diseases, Bieber wrote.

The former CEO “wasn’t even close to looking like a graduate-level person” who once ran a publicly traded company, Bieber wrote in filings in the Eastern District of New York. A neuropsychologist performed a series of evaluations in October before reaching a diagnosis, records say.

Jeffries’ condition is “irreversible and will continue to deteriorate over time,” Bieber wrote. “Continued physical and cognitive decline is expected until Mr. Jeffries eventually succumbs to the illnesses.”

Bieber argued that Jeffries’ condition means he will not be able to assist in his own defense and therefore cannot stand trial.

The court is scheduling a competency hearing, Bieber told USA TODAY.

Edwards said he expects the cases to be settled in his clients’ favor. “When the criminal and civil cases conclude, we expect there to be a conclusion that will set an example and forever deter companies and their executives from engaging in the sexual exploitation that Abercrombie did.”

Sex trafficking of male models: What to know about the allegations

Jeffries, along with Matthew Smith, 61, of West Palm Beach and James Jacobson, 71, of Wisconsin, were charged earlier this year with sex trafficking and engaging in interstate prostitution, prosecutors said. Smith has been referred to in hearings as Jeffries’ “life partner”.

The operation involved transporting young, aspiring male models to events in New York and elsewhere around the world and forcing them to have sex. The men believed that participating in the events would lead to modeling opportunities and advance their careers.

The indictment against Jeffries alleges in graphic and disturbing detail that while the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch used “his power, his wealth and his influence to traffic men for his own sexual pleasure and for his romantic partner, Smith,” Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New Yorksaid when the charges were announced.

The 16-count indictment includes an extensive investigation and charges the three defendants with exploiting young men in New York City, the Hamptons and at hotels around the world, including in England, France, Italy, Morocco and St. Barts.

Jeffries and Smith employed Jacobson as a “recruiter” to find men and pay them to engage in sexual acts, Peace said. Smith would personally select men to be flown to the couple’s homes or hotels “to engage in commercial sex,” Peace said.

Heterosexual men were deliberately recruited, some of whom had previously worked for Abercrombie, according to the indictment.

The defendants allegedly hired staff to organize events where the victims would be supplied with drugs and alcohol and forced into sexual activity, the indictment states. Staff reportedly helped keep the events secret by making sure the men turned in their phones and signed non-disclosure agreements.

Peace said the illegal operation lasted from at least 2008 to 2015 and required millions of dollars to support its massive infrastructure and maintain secrecy. As well as paying the men for sex, they allegedly spent large sums on staff to run it.

Although only 15 men are identified in the indictment as John Does, Peace said prosecutors believe “dozens and dozens” of victims were involved. He thanked the victims for coming forward and encouraged others to contact the FBI.