Lawyers Claim Ex-Abercrombie CEO Accused of Sex Crimes Has Dementia: Could He Avoid Jail Time?

Lawyers for ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries filed a motion on Thursday saying that their client is mentally incompetent to stand trial.

Jeffries is facing charges of sex trafficking and prostitution after being accused by federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York of operating “an international sex trafficking and prostitution business” from 2008 to 2015, according to an indictment.

Jeffries, who served as the CEO of Abercrombie from 1992 to 2014, had previously entered a plea of not guilty to the charges back in October 2024 and is currently on house arrest ahead of his trial.

Two months after he entered his plea, the defense team submitted a motion to determine competency to stand trial, requesting that the judge allow Jeffries to be evaluated by medical professionals because of concerns about his mental state.

On Thursday, the defense submitted the evaluations from doctors who examined Jeffries.

“Based on their respective evaluations, Dr. [Alexnader] Bardey/Dr. [Miranda] Rosenberg, and Dr. [Cheryl] Paradis independently concluded that Mr. Jeffries is suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to properly assist in his defense,” wrote defense lawyer Brian Bieber in the motion filed on Thursday, April 10.

The doctors’ evaluation concluded that Jeffries is suffering from multiple symptoms which could be the result of “Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy Body disease, and the residual effects of a traumatic brain injury.”

These “impairments” leave “no prospect for remediation through standard competency restoration interventions, such as education or treatment,” wrote Dr. Bardey and Dr. Rosenberg.

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In his evaluation, Dr. Paradis concluded that Jeffries’ mental impairments are “severe enough” to qualify as dementia,

“In my opinion Mr. Jeffries is currently suffering from a mental disease or defect which renders him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him and properly assist in his defense,” Dr. Paradis wrote.

The defense is now asking that Jeffries be placed into the custody of the Attorney General for a period of no more than four months so that state doctors can evaluate his mental state.

In the event that those doctors also find Jeffries incompetent to stand trial, the defense is requesting Jeffries be released “to home confinement on the same standard and special conditions of pretrial release he is currently subject to, pending further proceedings.”

Jeffries and his co-defendants, which include his partner Matthew Smith and former employee James Jacobson, “used coercive, fraudulent and deceptive tactics in connection with their sex trafficking and prostitution venture,” according to a press release from prosecutors.

The three men would allegedly lure young men to sex parties by promising them modeling jobs and once there require them to relinquish their clothing and phones. Jeffries and Smith also allegedly “directed others to inject, or personally injected, men with an erection-inducing substance for the purpose of causing the men to engage in sex acts,” according to the press release.

These men were often “financially vulnerable and aspired to become models in the fashion industry,” and in some cases were already employees at Abercrombie stories.

Smith and Jacobson also entered pleas of not guilty to charges of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution in 2024.

If convicted of the sex trafficking charge, Jeffries faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment. 

If convicted of the interstate prostitution charges, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.

Jeffries’ lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.