Ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries to be assessed medically to determine if he can be tried on sex trafficking and prostitution charges, prosecutor says

The 80-year-old ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO, Michael Jeffries, who was recently found mentally incompetent to be tried in his pending sex trafficking and prostitution case, will be assessed at a federal medical center in North Carolina for up to four months to determine whether he can stand trial, a prosecutor said in court Tuesday.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons has designated Jeffries, currently on house arrest in West Palm Beach, Florida, to Federal Medical Center Butner for evaluation, but has not yet set a date for the process to begin, Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Farrell said at a case conference Tuesday.

Jeffries was indicted in October on one count of sex trafficking and 15 counts of interstate prostitution, with some of the alleged crimes occurring in the Hamptons and New York City.

U.S. District Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury ruled earlier this month that Jeffries is currently unfit to face charges because he’s been diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, but ordered him to submit to an evaluation — not to exceed four months — to determine whether he can regain the mental fitness to stand trial.

Choudhury, speaking during a conference on the case in federal court in Central Islip, said: "I think there's a real question on whether competency can be restored."

Jeffries and his co-defendants, Matthew C. Smith, his romantic partner, and James Jacobson, who have all pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking and engaging in interstate prostitution, appeared for the conference remotely.

Jeffries' attorney, Brian H. Bieber, said in court that Jeffries' wife died recently, calling it "an untimely death," and raised the possibility of requesting an extension on his client's surrender date if it conflicted with a memorial service in honor of his late wife scheduled for next week in Florida.

"I'm sorry for his loss," the judge said.

Bieber replied: "Thank you, judge."

Jeffries made no statements during the conference.

Jeffries, who headed the clothing retailer from 1992 to 2014, was indicted along with Smith, 61, a British citizen who also lives in West Palm Beach. Smith also pleaded not guilty.

Their co-defendant, Jacobson, 71, of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, who prosecutors said acted as a "recruiter" to find men for Jeffries and Smith to have sex with, also pleaded not guilty.

All three defendants operated an international sex trafficking business by fraudulently dangling the possibility of modeling for Abercrombie & Fitch at properties in Water Mill, New York City and other locations between December 2008 and March 2015, according to federal prosecutors.

Jacobson, who was employed by Jeffries and Smith as a recruiter, conducted sex tryouts with the victims to determine who was good enough to have sex with his bosses.

Farrell also told the judge that discovery, of what the defense said was some 508 gigabytes of material, or 1.56 million documents, was "substantially complete," but the investigation is ongoing.

The judge also directed the defense attorneys to brief her on whether they intend to seek separate trials for the three defendants.

Outside court, Jacobson's attorney, Jeremy Schneider, said it's "unclear" whether he'll seek a severance. Attorneys for Jeffries and Smith did not respond to a Newsday reporter's questions as they walked to their chauffeured black SUV.

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.