Mike Jeffries, the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, has been arrested on charges of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Jeffries was arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida. Two employees, Matthew Smith of West Palm Beach and James Jacobson of Wisconsin, were also arrested on sex trafficking charges.
Jeffries and Smith made their initial appearances in West Palm Beach court Tuesday afternoon.
Jeffries, who was the controversial CEO of the popular clothing brand from 1992 to 2014, was released later in the day on $10 million bail. U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart ordered him to be placed under home confinement with GPS monitoring, prohibited from traveling without permission and surrendered his passport.
Smith, in the same courtroom, submitted to detention until the case is heard in New York State. Jacobson was scheduled to appear in federal court in Islip with Jeffries on Friday for a arraignment.
Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson each face one count of sex trafficking, as well as 15 counts of interstate prostitution in connection with 15 alleged victims.
On Tuesday, Jeffries, wearing a blue polo shirt and white shorts, was handcuffed in a jury box as he deliberated with his attorney, Brian H. Bieber.
A federal indictment alleges that Jeffries — along with Smith, his romantic partner, and Jacobson, who was described as a recruiter — operated an “international sex trafficking and prostitution enterprise” from 2008 to 2015.
It alleges they arranged “sex events” in England, France, Italy, Morocco, St. Barts, New York City and the Hamptons for Jeffries, Smith and “others.” They “employed coercive, fraudulent and deceptive tactics in connection with recruiting, hiring, transporting, obtaining, retaining, soliciting and paying the men to engage in commercial sex,” it says.
The men who attended the events were led to believe that it could lead to modeling or help their careers or “that not complying with requests for certain actions during the sex events could harm their careers,” the complaint alleges.
The youngest of the alleged victims was 19, prosecutors said in a memo to the court Tuesday.
“Many of the victims, at least one of whom was only 19 years old, were financially vulnerable and aspired to become models in the fashion industry, a world that is notoriously unforgiving,” the memo said. “Some of the men they recruited had previously worked at Abercrombie stores or had been models for Abercrombie.”
The men were required to sign confidentiality agreements and hand over their wallets and cell phones during the events, prosecutors said.
Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson also allegedly recruited, hired and paid an exclusive group of housekeepers to “facilitate and supervise the sex events.”
The staff members provided Jeffries, Smith and the men who attended with alcohol, muscle relaxants known as “poppers,” lubricant, Viagra and condoms, among other items, the complaint said. Either Jacobson or the staff members paid the men to attend the sex events, the complaint said.
The trio hired a “full-service security company” to administer confidentiality agreements, conduct background checks and monitor and, if necessary, intimidate victims, prosecutors alleged in their arrest memorandum.
“When witnesses threatened to expose or sue them, Jeffries and Smith relied on the services of a security company to surveil and intimidate those individuals, thereby ensuring their silence,” the memo said.
The trio used disposable phones to communicate, the memo alleged.
Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said at a news conference that Jeffries and Smith spent millions on the sex trafficking operation — from paying staff members to paying for travel to paying for confidentiality.
The detention memo says some victims were paid directly in cash, amounting to “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Peace said the operation used a referral system and interview process in which the men allegedly exploited were not told the details of the sexual encounters before they were present. During those “trials” of potential candidates, Jacobson typically had candidates perform commercial sex acts on him first, the complaint says.
The men who attended the events were led to believe that it could lead to modeling or help their careers or “that not complying with requests for certain actions during the sex events could harm their careers,” the complaint said.
The youngest of the alleged victims was 19, prosecutors said in a memo to the court Tuesday.
“Many of the victims, at least one of whom was only 19 years old, were financially vulnerable and aspired to become models in the fashion industry, a world known for its cutthroat competition,” the memo said. “Some of the men they recruited had previously worked at Abercrombie stores or had been models for Abercrombie.”
The men were required to sign confidentiality agreements and hand over their wallets and cell phones during the events, prosecutors said.
Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson also allegedly recruited, hired and paid an exclusive group of housekeepers to “facilitate and supervise the sex events.”
The staff members provided Jeffries, Smith and the men who attended with alcohol, muscle relaxants known as “poppers,” lubricant, Viagra and condoms, among other items, the complaint said. Either Jacobson or the staff members paid the men for their attendance at the sex events, the complaint said.
The trio hired a “full-service security company” to administer confidentiality agreements, conduct background checks and monitor and, if necessary, intimidate victims, prosecutors alleged in their arrest memorandum.
“When witnesses threatened to expose or sue them, Jeffries and Smith relied on the services of a security company to surveil and intimidate those individuals, thereby securing their silence,” the complaint said.
The trio used disposable phones to communicate, the memo alleges.
Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said at a news conference that Jeffries and Smith spent millions on the sex trafficking operation — from paying staff members to paying for travel to paying for confidentiality.
The detention memo said some victims were paid directly in cash, amounting to “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Peace said the operation used a referral system and interview process in which the men allegedly exploited were not told the details of the sexual encounters before they were present. During those “trials” of potential candidates, Jacobson typically had candidates perform commercial sex acts on him first, the complaint said.
During the events, the men were pressured to drink and consume poppers, and “on more than one occasion when men were unwilling or unable to consent, Jeffries and Smith violated the physical integrity of these men by subjecting or continuing to subject them to invasive sexual and violent contact with body parts and other objects,” Peace said.
Jeffries and Smith instructed staff members to inject some victims with “a prescribed erection-inducing substance for the purpose of inducing the men to perform sexual acts that they were otherwise physically unable or unwilling to perform,” the arrest memorandum alleges.
According to the document, prosecutors said they have “dozens of witnesses” who can testify.
“For too long, powerful individuals have trafficked and abused young people with few resources for their own sexual pleasure in a dream, a dream of a successful career in fashion or entertainment,” Peace said. He warned people who think they can exploit or coerce by using the “so-called casting couch system” to “prepare to trade that couch for a bed in a federal prison.”
Peace said his office learned of the allegations through media reports.
The published an explosive report a year ago that said Jeffries was accused of exploiting men at sex parties he hosted. The report said 12 men described attending or organizing events that involved sexual acts for Jeffries and his partner, Smith, and that the events took place from 2009 to 2015. Some of the men who spoke to the BBC said they were exploited or did not participate willingly.
Bieber, Jeffries’ lawyer, told factstimes News at the time that Jeffries would not comment on reports about his personal life. Abercrombie & Fitch said it was “shocked and disgusted” by the allegations in the BBC report.
Jeffries was chairman as Abercrombie expanded its retail footprint and began reporting annual profits in the 10s. The rise was followed by a decline as fast-fashion retailers offered competing products at much lower prices. And Abercrombie was shunned for using wiry, predominantly white models and selling T-shirts that were blatantly racist. The company also faced multiple discrimination lawsuits during Jeffries’ tenure.
Bieber said in a statement Tuesday following Jeffries’ arrest: “We will respond to the allegations in detail after the charges are made public, and when appropriate, but we plan to do so in court — not in the media.”
Shortly after that report, Abercrombie & Fitch and Jeffries were sued over allegations that they turned a blind eye to the allegations against Jeffries. The civil lawsuit alleged that he sexually abused numerous men after luring them with the promise of coveted modeling contracts, CNBC reported.
“Today’s arrests are monumental for the aspiring male models who were victimized by these individuals,” attorney Brittany Henderson, who represents the alleged victims in that class action lawsuit, said in a statement Tuesday.
“Their fight for justice does not end here,” the statement said. “We look forward to holding Abercrombie and Fitch accountable for facilitating this horrible behavior and ensuring that it does not happen again.”
Asked whether sex trafficking continued after 2015, Peace said the investigation is ongoing and encouraged victims or witnesses to come forward.