Documents: Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries found competent to stand trial

Ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries has been found competent to stand trial in a reversal from an earlier finding that had stalled proceedings in his pending sex trafficking and prostitution case.

Jeffries, who prosecutors said operated an international sex trafficking business by enticing young models with celebrity during part of his reign at the popular mass clothing retailer, was found to be competent after a monthslong, court-ordered evaluation at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina.

In a "certificate of restoration of competency" filed with the court Wednesday, acting warden B. Lott said Jeffries "is able to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him and to assist properly in his own defense."

Jeffries’ Miami-based attorney Brian H. Bieber, in response to a request for comment said: "The Government’s and Mr. Jeffries’ doctors previously found him incompetent to proceed. A doctor from the Bureau of Prisons is of a different opinion. We look forward to the Judge hearing the medical evidence, and deciding on the appropriate course of action moving forward." 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.

U.S. District Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury ruled Jeffries, who was diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's disease, unfit for trial in May. But the judge ordered Jeffries to be evaluated at a facility designated by the federal Bureau of Prisons for a time period not to exceed four months.

Jeffries, 81, of West Palm Beach, Florida, had been placed on house arrest. Jeffries has pleaded not guilty to one count of sex trafficking and 15 counts of interstate prostitution.

Prosecutors have said that between December 2008 and March 2015, Jeffries ran the sex trafficking operation with his co-defendants Matthew C. Smith, his romantic partner, and James Jacobson, who prosecutors said recruited men for Jeffries and Smith to have sexual encounters with.

Smith, a British citizen who also lives in West Palm Beach, and Jacobson, of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, have also pleaded not guilty.

A telephone conference in Jeffries case is scheduled for Thursday morning in front of Choudhury. 

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.