Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO is ruled unfit for trial and ordered hospitalized
NEW YORK (AP/WCMH) — A federal judge ruled Friday that the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch is not competent to stand trial on sex trafficking charges and ordered him hospitalized to see if his mental condition improves.
Michael Jeffries' lawyers sought the ruling last month, writing in a letter filed in a New York federal court that the 80-year-old requires around-the-clock care because he has Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia and the “residual effects of a traumatic brain injury.”
The defense, as well as prosecutors, requested that Jeffries be placed in federal Bureau of Prisons custody so he can be hospitalized and receive treatment that might allow his criminal case to proceed.
Doctors said his memory impairment and cognitive decline would not allow him to work with his defense attorney or accurately recall the events surrounding his accusations.
“The court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant is presently 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 assist properly in his defense,” Judge Nusrat Choudhury wrote in his decision.
He directed the Attorney General's office to place Jeffries in a hospital for up to four months.
Jeffries was charged with the sex crimes in October 2024, one year after a civil lawsuit accused Abercrombie of letting Jeffries run a sex-trafficking organization during his 22-year role as CEO. According to his indictment, Jeffries and two other men allegedly paid for dozens of men to travel and engage in commercial sex acts, even attending specific sexual events.
Victims were allegedly coerced into these activities, believing they were being scouted for Abercrombie. The indictment accuses Jeffries and the two other men of implying noncompliance would hurt victims’ careers, allegedly intentionally seeking out heterosexual men who would be uncomfortable with engaging in sexual acts.
As of March, more than 40 men have come forward accusing Jeffries of sexual abuse.