Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries has been arrested on interstate sex trafficking and prostitution charges, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Jeffries was arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida. Two other associates, Matthew Smith of West Palm Beach and James Jacobson of Wisconsin, were also arrested on sex trafficking charges.
They are expected to appear today in federal court in Florida and Wisconsin, and to be arraigned at a later date in the Eastern District of New York.
Jeffries was the CEO of the popular clothing brand from 1992 to 2014.
Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson each face a single count of sex trafficking as well as 15 counts of interstate prostitution related to 15 alleged victims.
A federal indictment alleges that Jeffries — along with Smith, his romantic partner, and Jacobson, described as a recruiter — operated an “international sex trafficking and prostitution business” from 2008 to 2015.
It alleges they organized “sex events” in England, France, Italy, Morocco, St. Barts and New York for Jeffries, Smith and “others.” They “used coercive, fraudulent and deceptive tactics in connection with recruiting, hiring, transporting, obtaining, interviewing, soliciting and paying men to engage in the trade of sex”.
Men who attended the events were allegedly led to believe that doing so could lead to modeling opportunities or help their careers or “that failure to comply with requests for certain acts during sexual events could harm their careers.”
The men had to sign nondisclosure agreements and hand over their wallets and cellphones during the events.
Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson also allegedly recruited, hired and paid an exclusive group of household staff to “facilitate and supervise sexual events.” Staff provided Jeffries, Smith and the men present with alcohol, muscle relaxers known as “poppers”, lubricant, Viagra and condoms, among other items. Either Jacobson or staff paid the men for attending the sexual events, the indictment states.
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 sex trafficking — paying staff, paying for travel and paying to maintain the secret.
Peace said the operation used a referral system and interview process, in which men who were allegedly preyed upon were not informed of the details of the sexual events before attending them. During these “tryouts” of potential candidates, Jacobson typically asked the candidates to engage in commercial sex acts with him, according to the indictment.
During the events, the men were pressured to drink and consume poppers, and “on more than one occasion, when the men were unwilling or unable to consent, Jeffries and Smith violated bodily integrity of these men by subjecting them or continuing to subject them to invasive substances. sexual and violent contact with body parts and other objects,” Peace said.
“For too long, powerful individuals have trafficked and abused, for their own sexual gratification, young people with few resources in a dream, the dream of securing a successful career in fashion or entertainment,” Peace said. He warned anyone who thinks they can exploit or coerce using the “so-called casting couch system” that they should “prepare to trade that couch for a bed in a federal prison.”
Prosecutors are seeking $10 million bail for Jeffries, $500,000 for Jacobson, and that Smith be held pending trial because he is a citizen of the United Kingdom and poses “the greatest flight risk.”
Peace said his office became aware of the alleged crimes through media reports.
Jeffries news The arrest comes a year after BBC News published an explosive report that Jeffries exploited men at sex parties he hosted. This report states that 12 men described attending or organizing events that included sexual acts for Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith, and that these events took place from 2009 to 2015. Some of the men who spoke to the BBC said that ‘they had been exploited or had not participated voluntarily. .
Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Bieber, told NBC News at the time that Jeffries would not comment on reports about his personal life. Abercrombie & Fitch said the company was “appalled and disgusted” by the allegations in the BBC report.
Bieber told NBC News on Tuesday in response to the arrest: “We will respond in detail to the allegations once the indictment is unsealed, and if appropriate, but we plan to do so at the courthouse — not in the media. »
Shortly after this report, Abercrombie & Fitch and Jeffries were sued for allegedly turning a blind eye to Jeffries’ alleged misconduct. That civil suit alleged 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 victims of the class-action lawsuit, said Tuesday.
“Their fight for justice does not stop here,” the statement said. “We look forward to holding Abercrombie and Fitch accountable for facilitating this terrible conduct and ensuring that it cannot happen again.”
When asked if the alleged sex trafficking enterprise may have continued after 2015, Peace said the investigation was ongoing and encouraged any victims or witnesses to come forward.