LONG ISLAND, N.Y. – Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries and his partner, Matthew Smith, have been indicted on 16 counts of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution in federal court in Brooklyn, Brooklyn District Attorney Breon said Tuesday. Pitch at a press conference.
Jeffries currently lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, but previously owned a home in Water Mill, Long Island, federal officials said.
The indictment comes after several public accusations that Jeffries and Smith had sexually abused and trafficked young men who aspired to become Abercrombie models in the United States and abroad, Peace said. Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie from 1992 to 2014.
“The message from today's prosecution is clear: sexually exploiting vulnerable people is a crime, and doing it with dreams of a future in fashion or modeling or any other business is no different,” Peace said.
According to Peace, Jeffries and Smith are accused of running a sex-trafficking operation between December 2008 and March 2015 and are accused of hiring a man named James Jacobson — who was also arrested — to recruit young men to fly to New York and hotels. around the world to have commercial sex with Jeffries and Smith.
Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson are also accused of using force, fraud and coercion to induce victims to engage in sexual acts, Peace said.
Peace said the three defendants are accused of pressuring the victims to drink alcohol and take muscle relaxants and Viagra while the victims believed watching these sexual acts could lead to modeling opportunities with Abercrombie or otherwise benefit their careers. their.
According to Irini, the defendants are also accused of violating victims who did not or could not consent, in some cases by injecting them with an erection-inducing drug.
Peace also said the men are accused of hiring staff to ensure victims would sign non-disclosure agreements and hand over their phones and personal belongings before the events began and spending millions of dollars on the business's infrastructure.
Although 15 victims have been found in the investigation so far, Peace said he expects many more to come forward now that the indictment has been announced.
Jeffries and Smith are scheduled to make initial appearances Tuesday afternoon in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, and Jacobson is scheduled to make his first appearance this afternoon in federal court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
If convicted on the sex trafficking charges, the three defendants face a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, and if convicted on the interstate prostitution charges, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Abercrombie declined to comment on the case. Patch has reached out to the attorney for each defendant and will update the article if they provide a statement.
“We will respond in detail to the allegations after the indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but we intend to do so in court — not in the media,” Brian Bieber, Jeffries' attorney, told Patch via email.
UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.: Jeffries was released on $10 million bond, Jacobson was released on $500,000 bond and Smith was ordered held. Jeffries and Jacobson will be arraigned Friday in federal court in Central Islip, Long Island.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
