Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries leaves after a hearing at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Rebecca Blackwell | Associated Press
previous Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries On Friday, his associates pleaded not guilty to federal criminal charges of sexually exploiting dozens of men, many of whom sought to become models for the clothing brand.
Jeffries, 80, and James Jacobson, 71, are scheduled to stand trial in U.S. District Court on Long Island, New York, three days after their arrests on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges.
Earlier on Friday, lawyers for the two men confirmed to CNBC that their clients would enter not guilty pleas.
The detailed 16-count indictment unsealed Tuesday accuses Jeffries and his 61-year-old lover Matthew Smith of running an international sex trafficking enterprise for more than six years, much of which spanned Jeffries’ tenure as CEO overlapping.
Jacobson allegedly served as a recruiter for “sexual activity” and allegedly asked potential candidates to attend “selections” with him.
The defendants allegedly used recruitment tactics of “coercion, fraud and deception,” including leading men “to believe that engaging in sexual activity would lead to opportunities to model with Abercrombie or otherwise be beneficial,” the indictment said. their careers”.
If convicted, Jeffries and Jacobson face a maximum sentence of life in prison on the sex trafficking charge alone, with a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison. If convicted of all 15 counts of interstate prostitution, they could also be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
Smith was also arrested Tuesday and faces the same charges. He and Jeffries were both arrested in Florida, while Jacobson was arrested in Wisconsin, where he lives.
Jeffries made his first court appearance in West Palm Beach on Tuesday afternoon, where a federal magistrate judge released Jeffries on $10 million bail and gave him home confinement and location monitoring.
Smith was ordered detained pending arraignment at a later date because, as a British citizen, he faces a greater risk of absconding.
Jacobson was released on $500,000 bail Tuesday afternoon after appearing in federal court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
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