Judge in alleged sex trafficking case of ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries sets tentative trial date

A federal judge on Thursday set an October 26 tentative trial date for ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries and his two co-defendants to stand trial on charges he operated an international sex trafficking business that preyed on models using his power as an executive at the clothing retailer. 

A competency hearing will be held next year to determine whether Jeffries can assist in his own defense and stand trial, the judge said Thursday.

Jeffries, 81, was initially found to be unfit to stand trial after his attorneys said he had been diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. But the results of a court-ordered evaluation at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina that was released Wednesday, said Jeffries had reestablished competency to stand trial.

Given the conflicting opinions, U.S. District Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury on Thursday ordered a hearing be held on the competency issue. While a date wasn’t set during Thursday’s virtual conference, the competency hearing is likely to take place sometime in March, or early April, the judge said.

Brian H. Bieber, Jeffries’ Miami-based attorney, maintained Thursday that his client lacks the ability to assist in his own defense and should be declared incompetent for trial. Bieber told the judge Thursday that he plans to have Jeffries re-evaluated by three doctors in New York before the competency hearing.

"In light of the competency issue, I can't answer that question at this time," said Bieber, when asked by the judge if he was planning to file any substantive pretrial motions. "I have not been able to have the types of meaningful discussions or input from Mr. Jeffries with respect to that." 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Farrell, who is prosecuting Jeffries and his co-defendants, said the government plans to call between two to three witnesses, including a neuropsychologist and a psychologist who examined Jeffries at Butner.

While the results of the examinations are included in the court file, the reports from the doctors who assessed Jeffries' competency remain sealed. Both the prosecution and defense made no effort to seal the upcoming competency hearing. 

"We believe it should be a public proceeding," Farrell said when asked for her opinion by the judge. "There obviously would be some discussion of medical information, but we don’t believe the level of discussion would outweigh the public’s right of access to attend such a hearing." 

Bieber said: "I am not aware of case law that seals the proceedings, judge." 

Jeffries, of West Palm Beach, Florida, was indicted in October 2024 and pleaded not guilty to one count of sex trafficking and 15 counts of interstate prostitution.

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, prosecutors have said.

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

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.