Allegations against former Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries include sex, drugs and NDAs
Michael Jeffries, the former chief executive of clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, and two co-defendants were arrested Tuesday on charges related to an alleged international sex trafficking and prostitution ring that prosecutors say exploited dozens of men.
The 16-count indictment, which was unveiled by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, names as defendants Jeffries, 80, his partner Matthew Smith, 61, and James Jacobson, 71, who allegedly interviewed and recruited men to perform sex acts for Jeffries and Smith.
Each of the defendants is charged with one count of sex trafficking and 15 counts of interstate prostitution related to 15 unnamed victims. Jeffries served as CEO of the clothing brand from 1992 to 2014.
The indictment says between 2008 to 2015, the three men operated an international sex trafficking and prostitution business that relied on Jeffries' wealth and power as the CEO of Abercrombie. Dozens of men were paid by Jeffries and Smith to travel abroad and within the U.S., including to their homes in the Hamptons and New York City, for sex with them and others. Prosecutors say the victims were often recruited under the guise of a modeling opportunity.
Here are five key allegations from the indictment:
- Jeffries and Smith spent millions of dollars building an infrastructure to support their international organization that included a security staff to operate it. Much of the money paid for the victims' domestic and international travel as well as hotel rooms.
- Victims and witnesses were required to sign non-disclosure agreements to prevent them from disclosing information about the events and to keep them from seeking help. On occasions when witnesses threatened to expose or sue them, a security company was used to surveil and intimidate those individuals to secure their silence.
- The indictment says Jeffries and Smith hosted "sex events" where men were pressured to consume alcohol and drugs.
- Prosecutors said Jacobson recruited and interviewed men for the events by holding "tryouts" in which he would have sex with the men before they were invited. Jacobson also paid men who successfully referred others who were eventually invited to the events.
- The victims, including one as young as 19, say they engaged in sex acts under the guise of receiving a modeling opportunity with Abercrombie. Prosecutors said victims also believed declining an invite to the parties "could harm their careers."
Jeffries' tenure at Abercrombie & Fitch was filled with controversy
Mike Jeffries became president and CEO of Abercrombie in 1992 and soon morphed the small, struggling retailer into a must-have brand. But his tactics also set the company on a path to becoming widely scorned, gaining a reputation as “America’s most-hated retailer."
Jeffries fueled Abercrombie’s meteoric rise with sexualized marketing, including a hybrid magazine-catalog that featured images of barely clothed models alongside articles about sex, drinking and pop culture. The brand became synonymous with shirtless male models, some of whom worked in Abercrombie's dimly lit stores that were filled with the scent of its signature cologne.
Abercrombie notably went years without selling larger sizes of clothes to cultivate its exclusive image.
“We go after the attractive, all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends," Jeffries told Salon in 2006. "A lot of people don't belong (in Abercrombie clothes) and they can't belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely."
After more than two decades at the helm, Jeffries stepped down as CEO in 2014 amid mass criticism of the company’s performance and workplace culture. Abercrombie suffered 11 straight quarters of negative comparable-store sales. Former employees protested and sued over allegations of race and age discrimination, complaints detailed in a recent Netflix documentary.
In the years since Jeffries' exit, the company has since been able to rebrand itself, now catering to an older, more diverse demographic.
Read the indictment
Warning, the following document contains graphic descriptions of an alleged prostitution ring.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
Contributing: Sheridan Hendrix and Mark Williams, Columbus Dispatch