The former Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) CEO is suffering from dementia and late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, his legal team said in a court document filed in New York.
Attorneys for Mike Jeffries have requested a hearing to determine whether he is mentally fit to stand trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
The 80-year-old was arrested in October along with his accomplice and charged with running an international sex trafficking and prostitution business. Both men pleaded not guilty.
A so-called competency hearing is scheduled for June next year.
Mr Jeffries, who ran American clothing brand A&F for two decades, is accused of running a sex trafficking and prostitution business from at least 2008-15.
US prosecutors allege that she used her wealth, power and status to “traffick men for her sexual pleasure”.and to the delight of her British partner Matthew Smith, 61.
They said the couple, along with 71-year-old middleman James Jacobson, used force, deception and coercion to lure vulnerable, aspiring models into violent and exploitative sex acts.
All three men have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have been released on bond.
The FBI launched an investigation last year after the BBC revealed claims that Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith had sexually abused men at events around the world.
gave BBC investigationPublished in October 2023, it was revealed that the couple were at the center of a sophisticated operation in which a middleman was scouting teenagers for sex.
That same month, Mr. Jeffries’ lawyer, Brian Bieber, said his client had been examined several times by a neuropsychologist who later concluded from diagnostic feedback that he had two types of dementia and possibly late-onset dementia. Suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
In court filings, Mr. Bieber added that during an initial meeting last year the former fashion boss “didn’t even come close to resembling an educated person with a master’s degree who, just nine years ago, was a publicly traded company.” He was the Chief Executive Officer. .
As a result, Mr. Bieber questioned Mr. Jeffries’ ability to “rationally assist” with potential factual and legal defenses to the charges he was facing, according to the document.
The filing comes after Mr Jeffries’ legal team called for a competency hearing, which will now take place over two days on June 16 and 17, 2025.
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York declined to comment.
Mr Jeffries stepped down as CEO and chairman of A&F in 2014, and walked away with a $25m (£19.9m) retirement package.
As well as the criminal case, A&F, Mr Jeffries and his colleagues are defending a civil suit accusing the retailer of funding a sex-trafficking operation.
Earlier this month, Mr. Jeffries sued A&F after it refused to pay his criminal defense costs.Arguing that the brand had agreed to indemnify him for all claims arising from his position.
Heather Coccolo, a professor at New York Law School who specializes in intellectual disability and criminal law, said there is limited data on how the justice system treats dementia, but it’s important for clinicians to consider it before a judge makes a final decision. Will be.
“If Mike Jeffries is found competent, the case will move forward,” he said. “But if he is deemed incompetent, and it is found that there is no reasonable prospect of his regaining competency, then the charges will have to be dropped.”
He added that his colleagues Matthew Smith and James Jacobson could still face trial but that if Mr Jeffries was also found incompetent to testify as a witness, the prosecution would have to rely on independent evidence.