By Christine Dolan
October 22, 2024

Whispers and media investigations have been alive for years about what occurred at parties hosted by former Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) CEO Mike Jeffries and his cohorts with young men at Jeffries' home in the Hamptons on Long Island, and elsewhere in Paris, London and Marrakesh. It sounded like an all too familiar pattern operated by the late Tier 3 convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell - only it focused on male models.

were overage, but still they wanted to break into the business and found themselves recruited for sex with the man, who would make or break their careers at A&F, but there was a procedure that they had to follow with the middleman - the recruiter. The potential models had to have sex with him first.

At first, there were the allegations, the initial investigations, a vetting process, a BBC investigation, a civil lawsuit filed in New York agains the former CEO, his life-partner and the middleman and the company itself, a judge ruling the company was indeed somewhat responsible financially, potentially more, and then an FBI investigation that led to indictments in New York on Tuesday.

The indictment is currently under seal, but the arrests have been orchestrated.

The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) and his partner and middleman were arrested and charged with running a prostitution and international sex trafficking business.

Law enforcement officials arrested former fashion executive Mike Jeffries, his partner Matthew Smith and the couple’s alleged middleman - James Jacobson.

Federal prosecutors have accused the men of using force, fraud and coercion to engage in "violent and exploitive" sexual acts.

“Force, fraud and coercion” are key words for trafficking charges.

Jeffries and Smith previously denied any wrongdoing per their lawyers, and Jeffries' lawyer has stated that they “will respond in detail to the allegations after the Indictment is unsealed.”

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, has alleged that Jeffries used his wealth, power and status as CEO of A&F "to traffic men for his own sexual pleasure" and for the pleasure of Smith, his partner.

Peace alleged the couple employed Jacobson as the recruiter who would conduct sexual "tryouts" with men in exchange for cash holding out a carrot that they must sexually perform on him to get to Jeffries.

Once approved the men would be flown to Jeffries’ New York home and other locations, where they were "pressured to consume alcohol, Viagra, and muscle relaxants,” Peace claimed.

Jeffries and Smith directed others or personally allegedly "injected men with an erection inducing substance" when they were incapable or unwilling to participate. Translated - Viagra injections into penises.

The ex-CEO "spent millions of dollars on a massive infrastructure to support this operation and maintain its secrecy", prosecutors claim.

Prosecutors said 15 victims are mentioned in the indictment but alleged that the operation "encompassed dozens and dozens of men.”

The FBI opened the investigation last year after the BBC revealed claims that Mike Jeffries and his partner sexually exploited and abused men at events they hosted in their New York residences and hotels around the world.

After a court appearance on Tuesday, Jeffries was released on a $10 million bond, while Jacobson was released on a $500,000 bond. They are due in court on Friday.

Smith was ordered detained.

The BBC investigation was acknowledged by the federal prosecutor to have ignited the federal investigation. Following the BBC investigation, a civil lawsuit was also filed in New York accusing Jeffries and Smith of sex-trafficking, rape and sexual assault.

The lawsuit also accused Abercrombie & Fitch of having funded the sex-trafficking operation over the two decades Jeffries ran A&C.

"These arrests are a huge first step towards obtaining justice for the many victims who were exploited and abused through this sex-trafficking scheme that operated for many years under the legitimate cover Abercrombie provided,” stated Bradley Edwards of Edwards Henderson, who represents some of the victims.

"The unprecedented reporting of the BBC, coupled with the lawsuit our firm filed detailing the operation, are to credit for these monumental arrests. This was the result of impressive investigative journalism,” noted Edwards, who also represented many of the late Jeffrey Epstein's victims for years.

The BBC interviewed 12 men who described attending or organizing events involving sex acts run for Jeffries, 80, and his British partner Smith, 61, between 2009 and 2015.

Eight of the men claimed to have been recruited by middleman James Jacobson.

As a result of the BBC investigation, the civil suit, and the FBI investigation, more men came forward last month.

In 2014, Jeffries stepped down as CEO following declining sales, but departed with a retirement package valued at around $25 million, according to company filings at the time.

Jeffries was once one of America's highest-paid CEOs.