NEW YORK — Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was arrested Tuesday on charges of sex trafficking and engaging in interstate prostitution, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
The indictment contains more than a dozen counts, and includes allegations of sex trafficking between December 2008 and March 2015.
Jeffries allegedly leveraged his position as CEO of the company to lure young men into sex by suggesting they could become models for the fashion company, prosecutors said.
“Powerful individuals for too long have trafficked and abused, for their own sexual pleasure, young people with few resources and a dream — a dream of securing a successful career in fashion or entertainment,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Breon Peace said. “To anyone who thinks they can exploit and coerce others by using the so-called ‘casting couch’ system, this case should serve as a warning. Prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison.”
The investigation involved the FBI and the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit.
“What’s alleged in the indictment is not only beyond disturbing, dishonorable and disgraceful, it’s criminal,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Dennehy said.
Jeffries and two co-defendants, Matthew Smith and James Jacobson, were arrested Tuesday morning. Smith and Jeffries were in a relationship.
Jeffries was released on a $10 million bond and returned to his Palm Beach, Florida home Tuesday. Jacobson was released on a $500,000 bond. Smith was ordered detained. Jeffries and Jacobson are set to appear in court on Long Island Friday. They face 15 years to life if convicted.
Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Bieber, said 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.” Smith’s attorney Joseph Nascimento released a similar statement.
If found guilty, the men could face 15 years to life in prison.
Details of the indictment
The 16-count indictment alleges that from “approximately 2008 to 2015, the defendants… operated an international sex trafficking and prostitution business.” Prosecutors allege Jeffries and Smith “paid for dozens of men” to travel both domestically and internationally “for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts.”
Jacobson allegedly acted as a recruiter, and had “tryouts” with potential candidates, which “typically required that the candidates first engage in commercial sex acts with him.”
Prosecutors allege Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson used “force, fraud and coercion to traffic those men for their own sexual gratification.” They say victims weren’t told about the sexual activity that would be required of them at various “sex events.”
Staff at the “sex events” supplied those attending with non-disclosure agreements to sign and took their phones to maintain secrecy, and then plied them with “with alcohol, muscle relaxants known as ‘poppers,’ lubricant, Viagra and condoms, among other items,” according to the indictment.
“They caused the men to believe that attending these sex events could yield modeling opportunities with Abercrombie,” Peace said.
Prosecutors allege that, on several occasions, when victims did not or could not consent, “Jeffries and Smith violated the bodily integrity of these men by subjecting them, or continuing to subject them, to invasive sexual and violent contact by body parts and other objects.”
The alleged sex trafficking and prosecution took place over the course of years.
“They spent millions of dollars on a massive infrastructure to support this operation,” Peace said.
The indictment lists 15 victims, but prosecutors allege the case actually involves “dozens and dozens of men.”
Former model Barret Pall says he was flown to Jeffries’ home in New York after auditioning to be a model for Jacobson.
“I thought that I was being given Abercrombie clothes to go into an Abercrombie interview, and it was not the interview I expected. And it was the darkest experience of my life,” he said.
Pall added, “I didn’t feel free. I didn’t feel like I could say no or that I could just walk away. I felt like I was trapped.”
“The defendants allegedly preyed on the hopes and dreams of their victims by exploiting, abusing and silencing them to fulfill their own desires,” Dennehy said.
“The NYPD encourages all survivors of sexual-based violence to come forward, regardless of gender, immigration status, race or sexual orientation,” Special Victims Unit Deputy Chief Carlos Ortiz said.
The FBI is asking anyone who believes they are a victim or has information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Jeffries previously named in class-action sex trafficking lawsuit
Jeffries had previously been named in a class-action lawsuit that accused him of running a “widespread sex-trafficking operation.” That lawsuit claimed he allegedly used his position at the company to prey on young men by suggesting the company would hire them as models.
The lawsuit alleged Jeffries lured young men to his estate in the Hamptons for casting interviews. Once there, he allegedly made them sign non-disclosure agreements, strip down, take drugs, and perform sex acts with himself and Smith, according to the lawsuit.
Jeffries became CEO of the company in 1992, and left in 2014 with a reported retirement package of over $25 million, according to the lawsuit. Abercrombie & Fitch said it had no comment on the arrest.
The company has previously said it hired a law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations.
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