Listen to this articleFormer Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries and two others were charged in federal court Tuesday with sex trafficking and engaging in interstate prostitution, and are alleged to have sometimes lured in victims with the promise of modeling opportunities for the clothing retailer, federal officials said. The case will be prosecuted at the Central Islip federal courthouse as there are allegations of criminal conduct committed in the Hamptons.
Jeffries, along with his life partner Matthew Smith and their employee James Jacobson, are charged with running an international sex trafficking and prostitution business from 2008 to 2015, using Jeffries’ status, wealth and a web of household staffers to fulfill the couple’s sexual desires and keep it all secret, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn Tuesday.
“As alleged in the indictment, former CEO of Abercrombie Michael Jeffries, his partner Matthew Smith and their recruiter James Jacobson used their money and influence to prey on vulnerable men for their own sexual gratification,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a news release about the arrests.
“Today’s arrests show that my Office and our law enforcement partners will not rest until anyone who engages in sex trafficking or interstate prostitution, regardless of their wealth or power, is brought to justice,” he added.
Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Bieber, said by email he would “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.”
Messages seeking comment were sent to attorneys for Smith and Jacobson.
Jeffries and Smith were arrested in Florida and were due to make an initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon in West Palm Beach. Jacobson was arrested in Wisconsin and due in court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The charges involved 15 unnamed accusers. Many of the victims, at least one as young as 19, were financially vulnerable and aspired to become fashion models, according to officials. Some of the recruited victims had previously worked at Abercrombie stores or modeled for Abercrombie.
Officials say that Jeffries and Smith allegedly paid for dozens of men to travel within the United States and internationally to the Hamptons and New York City as well as hotels in England, France, Italy, Morocco and Saint Barthélémy, to engage in sex acts with Jeffries, Smith and others. Jacobson allegedly traveled throughout the U.S. and internationally to recruit and interview men for what officials are calling “sex events.” During “tryouts” of potential candidates, Jacobson typically required that the candidates first engage in sex acts with him.
If convicted of the sex trafficking charge, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment. If convicted of the interstate prostitution charges, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
