Attorneys for former Abercrombie & Fitch chief govt officer Mike Jeffries have filed an unopposed movement to find out his competency to face trial.
Jeffries was arrested and charged in late October on one depend of intercourse trafficking and 15 counts of interstate prostitution. In late October, he pled not responsible in federal courtroom in Central Islip, N.Y., and is due again there subsequent 12 months.
Jeffries’ romantic associate, Matthew Smith, faces comparable costs, as does an alleged intermediary James Jacobson, who is alleged to have recruited males to attend events, the place some have alleged they have been pressured to have interaction in industrial intercourse with Jeffries and Smith. Each males additionally pled not responsible at their arraignments.
The three males have been mentioned to have been a part of a intercourse trafficking and interstate prostitution ring that lasted at the least from the top of 2008 till early 2015. Jeffries, 81, is alleged to have spent “thousands and thousands of {dollars} on a large infrastructure” to assist it and “lots of of 1000’s of {dollars} in money for industrial intercourse,” in addition to cash for journey, lodge rooms and a safety firm, in accordance with U.S. legal professional of the Japanese District of New York Breon Peace.
In a letter to the Hon. Nusrat Choudhury, who’s overseeing the case, Jeffries’ legal professionals Brian Bieber and Alek Ubieta requested the courtroom to allow Jeffries to file his movement to find out competency with out redactions, and order that two medical reviews stay sealed. After being employed by Jeffries in September 2023, his attorneys mentioned they questioned his attentiveness, focus, competency and understanding of the authorized and factual points being mentioned, after their preliminary and prolonged session with him.
“The Michael Jeffries who offered himself didn’t even come near resembling a grasp’s degree-educated particular person, who was simply 9 years earlier the chief govt officer of a publicly traded firm,” they mentioned.
Mike Jeffries walks out of federal courtroom after his arraignment in Central Islip, N.Y. in October.
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A spokesperson for the U.S. legal professional’s workplace for the Japanese District of New York had no touch upon the submitting Monday.
Brad Edwards, an legal professional with Edwards Henderson, who’s representing a few of Jeffries’ “John Doe” accusers, didn’t reply instantly to a media request Monday afternoon.
The 2 legal professionals attested that they questioned his “competency to rationally help — on a sustained and constant foundation — counsel in reference to the doable factual and authorized defenses to the allegations he was dealing with. On account of that concern, the undersigned inspired Mr. Jeffries to hunt a neuropsychological analysis and psychological well being remedy, if essential.”
They mentioned he underwent a full neuropsychological analysis in October 2023 by Dr. Jacqueline C. Valdes, whose preliminary diagnostic impressions included, “however weren’t restricted to, Jeffries’ cognitive impairment being according to dementia because of Lewy physique dementia.” Thus, Valdes’ formal preliminary “diagnostic impression” at the moment was possible Lewy physique dementia. Observe-up testing in October 2024 led to diagnostic impressions that Jeffries presently suffers from “dementia with behavioral disturbance, Alzheimer’s illness with possible late onset, and probably concurrently current Lewy physique dementia.”
Matthew Smith, the associate of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, exits after being arraigned in federal courtroom, in Central Islip, N.Y., on Dec. 3.
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Valdes reported that essentially the most debilitating think about “Jeffries’ present (and future) cognitive and bodily functioning is that he has a neurodegenerative illness which is irreversible and can proceed to worsen over time,” in accordance with the submitting. Valdes additionally steered that the defendant “could presently be affected by a psychological illness or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he’s unable to grasp the character and penalties of the proceedings in opposition to him or to help correctly in his protection.“
Jeffries’ authorized staff is asking the courtroom to grant his unopposed movement to find out competency to face trial, and enter the proposed sealed order submitted directing that Dr. Alexander Bardey, whom they’ve retained, and Dr. Cheryl Paradis, whom the federal government has retained, full their respective competency evaluations of Jeffries’ alleged psychological well being points, and put together reviews addressing their respective findings to find out Jeffries’ competency to take part within the authorized proceedings.
The competency listening to is scheduled to be held over two days on June 16 and June 17 on the Alfonse D’Amato Courthouse in Central Islip, N.Y.