Mike Jeffries, Former Abercrombie C.E.O., Arrested in Sex-Trafficking Case
Michael S. Jeffries, the former longtime chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch, was arrested Tuesday in connection with a federal sex-trafficking and interstate prostitution case.
Mr. Jeffries, who ran the clothing retailer from 1992 to 2014, faces charges related to sex trafficking, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said. The charges come a year after a BBC investigation and a class-action lawsuit accused Mr. Jeffries of using the prospect of modeling jobs at Abercrombie to lure young men to events around the world where they were sexually exploited.
Mr. Jeffries and his partner, Matthew Smith, were arrested in Florida on Tuesday morning and are expected to appear in federal court in West Palm Beach later in the day, said John Marzulli, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York. A third person, James Jacobson, was also arrested on Tuesday, in Wisconsin, in connection with the case and will appear in federal court in St. Paul, Minn., Mr. Marzulli said.
The prosecutor’s office, the F.B.I. and the New York Police Department are expected to disclose more information about the case during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed last year also accused Abercrombie of being complicit in the sex-trafficking scheme. The company, according to the suit, ignored the allegations made against Mr. Jeffries. An Abercrombie spokeswoman declined to comment on Mr. Jeffries’s arrest or the lawsuit against the retailer.
Abercrombie said previously that the company was “appalled and disgusted” by the allegations against its former chief. The retailer hired an outside law firm last year to investigate the accusations.
Brian Bieber, a lawyer for Mr. Jeffries, declined to comment on the sex trafficking-related charges, but he said Mr. Jeffries’s legal team intended to “respond in detail to the allegations” in court “when appropriate.”
Brittany Henderson, a partner at the law firm representing plaintiffs in the class action suit against Abercrombie and Mr. Jeffries, said the arrests were “monumental for the aspiring male models who were victimized by these individuals.”
“Their fight for justice does not end here,” Ms. Henderson said. “Our clients look forward to holding Abercrombie and Fitch liable for facilitating this terrible conduct and ensuring that this cannot happen again.”
Source: New York Times
