On Tuesday, ex-Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries, 80, was arrested in West Palm Beach, Fla., along with his partner Matthew Smith and a third man, James Jacobson. All were charged by prosecutors in New York of 16 counts of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution, according to officials. File Photo by Jason Szenes/EPA-EFE
Oct. 22 (UPI) — The former CEO of clothing company Abercrombie & Fitch was arrested along with two others on allegations of sex trafficking, according to court documents.
On Tuesday, ex-CEO Mike Jeffries, 80, was arrested in West Palm Beach, Fla., along with his partner Matthew Smith and a third man, James Jacobson. They were charged by prosecutors in New York on 16 counts of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution, according to officials.
Jacobson is expected on Tuesday to be in a federal court in Madison, Wis. Jeffries and Smith are expected to make appearances in West Palm Beach federal court.
The three defendants will be arraigned at a later date in New York’s Eastern District.
Jeffries was Abercrombie’s CEO from 1992 through 2014.
The government contends Jacobson allegedly recruited men “to perform commercial sex acts” for Jeffries and his parter Smith.
Specifically, all three are now facing one count of sex trafficking and 15 counts on allegations of interstate prostitution that allegedly spanned from December 2008 to March 2015. During that time, Jeffries lead the company.
In 2023, eight men told a BBC investigation crew they had allegedly been exploited and recruited for sex events by Jeffries, their former boss.
The indictment in Long Island’s U.S. District Court alleges the men and others “operated an international sex trafficking and prostitution business” during such time.
Jeffries lawyer Brian Bieber said they will respond in detail to the allegations “after the Indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse — not the media.”
This is not the first time the ex-Abecrombie CEO has been in hot water or in the middle of a controversy.
Meanwhile, Abercrombie & Fitch stock has been up nearly 80% for this year so far.
The company has for years tried to distance itself from its former top executive and its toxic reputation for a culture known to sexualize young men for profit.
In 2013 ,Abercrombie went so far as to apologize for things Jeffries had said and pledged more “inclusivity” among other personal infringements the company allegedly made over the years.
