Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, his romantic partner and a third man were arrested Tuesday on charges of luring men to sex parties held around the world, sometimes with the promise of them being models for the retailer.
Jeffries, partner Matthew Smith and his employee James Jacobson ran an international sex trafficking and prostitution operation from 2008 to 2015, using Jeffries’ status, wealth and a network of domestic workers to satisfy the couple’s sexual desires and keep everything in order. secret, according to the indictment was revealed in Brooklyn federal court.
“To anyone who thinks they can exploit and coerce others using the so-called casting couch system, it the case should serve as a warning – get ready to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison,” Brooklyn District Attorney Breon Pierce said at a press conference. “The sexual exploitation of vulnerable human beings is a crime. And doing this while dreaming of a future in fashion and modeling is no different,” he added.
The charges follow allegations of sexual abuse, made in court filings and in the media, by young men who said Jeffries promised them modeling jobs and then pressured them into sexual acts.
Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Biber, told the AP in an email that he “will respond in detail to the allegations after the indictment is revealed and when appropriate, but intends to do so in court — not in the media.” Jeffries and Smith were arrested in Florida and were scheduled to make their first court appearance Tuesday afternoon in West Palm Beach. Jacobson was arrested in Wisconsin, Mr.He was scheduled to appear in court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Brooklyn-based U.S. Attorney Breon Peace and FBI and law enforcement officials were scheduled to hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
The accusation
Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson are accused of interstate sex trafficking and prostitution involving 15 unidentified accusers.
According to the indictment, they paid dozens of men to travel nationally and internationally to sex parties to have paid sex with them and other men in New York and in hotels in England, France, Italy, Morocco and Sen Bartz. The men were not informed of everything that the events would entail, including some of the sexual practices they would be involved in, and were asked to hand over their clothes and cell phones during the meetings and to sign confidentiality agreements afterwards, the indictment states.
The defendants led men to believe that participating in the events would help their careers, including her chances of landing modeling jobs at Abercrombie — or that failure to do so could hurt her prospects, the indictment says. He said that in some cases, men were given scripts similar to those often sent to models for photo shoots, leaving them unaware of what they were signing.
The BBC report that prompted Abercrombie & Fitch to investigate
Jeffries became CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch in 1992 and left in 2014. The New Albany, Ohio-based company declined to comment on his arrest.
Abercrombie said last year it hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation after the BBC broadcast reports of similar allegations.
The BBC investigation involved a dozen men who reported taking part in events involving sexual acts that they said were staged by Jeffries and Smith, often at their home in New York and at hotels in London, Paris and elsewhere.
The BBC report also described Jacobson as a middleman who recruited men for the events. He told the news outlet at the time that he had not been involved and had no knowledge of “any coercive, deceptive or violent conduct.”