Ex Abercrombie & Fitch CEO, Mike Jeffries along with 2 other men, arrested as part of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution preying on young male models following civil suit against fashion brand last year which turned a blind eye.
Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO and accused serial sexual predator Mike Jeffries was arrested Tuesday as part of a sex-trafficking investigation amid allegations the ex fashion exec prayed on young male models.
The 79-year-old disgraced fashion boss — whose actions allegedly led to more than 100 men being abused — was arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida, NBC News reported.
His partner, Matthew Smith, 60, as well as a business associate, James Jacobson, 70 — previously described by accusers as a middleman by a previous BBC report— were also arrested in the case.
Instead of modeling opportunities the young men were prayed on
All three men are expected to appear in federal court in Florida and Wisconsin today, and arraigned on a later date in the eastern District of New York.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn were set to hold a news conference at noon Tuesday to announce the charges in the sex-trafficking and interstate prostitution case – including involving a ‘former CEO of a major company.’
Jeffries was the CEO of the popular clothing brand from 1992 to 2014.
The arrests come roughly a year after the FBI started probing claims Jeffries allegedly orchestrated elaborate sex events to exploit and sexually abuse young male models during his 22-year tenure at the brand.
A federal indictment alleges Jeffries, along with Smith and Jacobson, operated an ‘international sex trafficking and prostitution business’ from 2008 to 2015.
They ’employed coercive, fraudulent and deceptive tactics in connection with the recruitment, hiring, transportation, obtaining, maintaining, solicitation and payment of the men to engage in commercial sex,’ the indictment alleges.
The men who attended the events allegedly were led to believe that it could lead to modeling opportunities or help their careers or ‘that not complying with requests for certain acts during the Sex Events could harm their careers.’
Ex Abercrombie & Fitch CEO sleazy secret world
The men were required to sign non-disclosure agreements and surrender their wallets and cell phones during the events.
Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson also allegedly recruited, hired and paid an exclusive set of household staff to ‘facilitate and supervise the sex events.’ The staff provided Jeffries, Smith and the men who attended alcohol, muscle relaxants known as “poppers,” lubricant, Viagra, and condoms among other items. Either Jacobson or the staff paid the men for attending the sex events, the indictment said.
Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson each face a single count of sex trafficking as well as 15 counts of interstate prostitution tied to 15 alleged victims.
The claims first surfaced as part of a BBC report last year in which 12 men alleged they were lured to events at Jeffries’ upscale New York residence or luxury hotels in the world’s fashion capitals between 2009 to 2015.
In the wake of the BBC report, a class-action civil suit was filed in New York last year alleging that more than 100 men had been abused and that the fashion label turned a blind eye to Jeffries’ alleged misconduct.
David Bradberry, the lead plaintiff in the case and one of the dozen men who spoke to the BBC, alleged he felt pressured into having sex with Jeffries at one of his parties in his Hamptons mansion.
Bradberry, then 23 and an aspiring male model, told the BBC that he ‘didn’t feel safe to say ‘no’ or ‘I don’t feel comfortable with this’’ because of the home’s ‘secluded’ location and presence of Jeffries’ staff — who all dressed in a uniform of head-to-toe A&F.
The suit, filed in October last year, also alleged Jefferies had modeling scouts scouring the Internet for prey — and that some prospective models vying to become the next face of Abercrombie ended up sex-trafficking victims.
‘Jeffries was so important to the profitability of the brand that he was given complete autonomy to perform his role as CEO however he saw fit, including through the use of blatant international sex-trafficking and abuse of prospective Abercrombie models,’ the suit alleged.
Jeffries, who left Abercrombie in 2014, denied the allegations at the time.
Fashion label turned a blind eye amid bumper profits
Shortly after the BBC report, Abercrombie & Fitch and Jeffries were sued for allegedly turning a blind eye to Jeffries’ alleged misconduct. That civil suit alleged he sexually abused numerous men after luring them with the promise of coveted modeling contracts, CNBC reported.
Stated Jeffries’ lawyer, Brian Bieber, via the nypost on Tuesday, ‘We will 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.’
Abercrombie & Fitch said at the time that the company was ‘appalled and disgusted’ by the claims, adding it had hired an outside law firm to conduct a review.
In the wake of the arrests, lawyers representing the plaintiffs, Brad Edwards and Brittany Henderson, said in a statement Tuesday, ‘Our firm represents all of the victims in the class action case we filed on their behalf.
‘All four of the defendants, including Abercrombie and Fitch, have tried everything possible to delay our lawsuit from proceeding, presumably because they knew it would lead to criminal arrests. Despite their efforts, the arrests happened anyway, and we are looking forward to cooperating with law enforcement to make sure that the criminal and civil justice systems are successful in this prosecution.’
Adding, ‘Today’s arrests are monumental for the aspiring male models who were victimized by these individuals.
‘Their fight for justice does not end here. We look forward to holding Abercrombie and Fitch liable for facilitating this terrible conduct and ensuring that this cannot happen again.’
Jeffries was largely credited for the brand’s boost in popularity among teens in the early nineties with its slew of advertising campaigns featuring bare-chested young male and female models.