Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was arrested and charged with 16 counts of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution on Tuesday. Federal prosecutors said Jeffries and his two accomplices — his partner Matt Smith and another man, Jim Jacobson — paid 15 male victims to perform sex acts while traveling around the world.
The three men ran “a business that was dedicated to fulfilling their sexual desires and ensuring that their international sex trafficking and prostitution business was kept secret, thereby maintaining Jeffries’ powerful reputation,” according to the indictment.
Jeffries, who ran the clothing giant from 1992 to 2014, recruited and hired staffers to facilitate and supervise “sex events,” according to prosecutors, where victims were taken advantage of. These staffers provided Jeffries, Smith, and other men with “alcohol, muscle relaxants known as ‘poppers,’ lubricant, Viagra and condoms,” according to the indictment.
Victims believed attending the sex events “could yield modeling opportunities with Abercrombie or otherwise benefit their careers,” the indictment said, but they were unaware of the graphic sex acts they’d be “required” to perform.
The 80-year-old Jeffries was arrested alongside Smith in Florida on Tuesday morning and are expected to appear in federal court later in the day, according to The New York Times.
“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,” Brian Bieber, an attorney for Jeffries, and Joe Nascimento, an attorney for Smith, told ABC News in a joint statement.
The arrests come a year after the BBC reported Jeffries lured young men into performing sex acts by teasing potential Abercrombie modeling job. Jeffries, the BBC reported “exploited young adult men for sex at events he hosted in his New York residences and luxurious hotels around the world, including in London, Paris, Venice, and Marrakesh.”
Prior to Tuesday, Abercrombie had said it was “appalled and disgusted” by the accusations against its ex-chief executive.
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