WARNING: This story may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, his romantic partner and a third man were arrested Tuesday on charges of luring men into sex parties held around the world, sometimes by dangling the promise of modelling for the clothing retailer.
Jeffries, partner Matthew Smith and their employee James Jacobson “operated an international sex trafficking and prostitution business” from 2008 to 2015, using Jeffries’s status, wealth and a web of household staffers to fulfil the couple’s sexual desires — and keep it all secret, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn.
“To anyone who thinks they can exploit and coerce others by using the so-called casting couch system, this case should serve as a warning — prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison,” Brooklyn-based U.S. attorney Breon Peace said at a news conference.
“Sexually exploiting vulnerable human beings is a crime. And doing so by dangling dreams of a future in fashion and modelling is no different,” he added. James Dennehy, the assistant director of the FBI’s New York office, called the allegations “abhorrent.”
They follow and sometimes echo sexual misconduct allegations made in civil lawsuits and the media by young people who said Jeffries lured them with promises of modelling work and then pressed them into sex acts.
Jeffries’ lawyer, Brian Bieber, and Smith’s lawyers, Joseph Nascimento and David Raben, said by email they would respond to the allegations in court.
Messages seeking comment were sent to Jacobson’s lawyer. Jacobson has said previously that he didn’t engage in or know about any coercive, deceptive or forceful behaviour.
All three defendants were due later Tuesday in various courts — Jeffries and Smith in Florida, where they were taken into custody, and Jacobson in St. Paul, Minn., after his arrest in Wisconsin.
The three are charged with sex trafficking and interstate prostitution involving 15 unnamed accusers.
The assistant director of the FBI’s New York field office says three men, including a former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, used ‘force, fraud and coercion to induce victims into participating in their illegal operations.’
Dozens of men coerced into sex acts, indictment alleges
According to the indictment, they paid for dozens of men to travel within the U.S. and internationally to engage in paid sex with them and other men in New York and at hotels in England, France, Italy, Morocco and St. Barts between 2008 and 2015.
The sometimes graphic indictment describes sexual bacchanals in which the recruited men were given drugs, lubricant, condoms, costumes, sex toys and, sometimes, erection-inducing penile injections that caused painful, hours-long reactions.
The men weren’t informed of all that the events would entail, including some of the sexual practices they’d be expected to engage in, and they were required to give up their clothes and cell phones during the gatherings and sign non-disclosure agreements afterward, the indictment said.
The defendants led the men to believe that attending the events would help their careers, including their chances of getting Abercrombie modelling gigs — or that not complying could harm their prospects, the indictment says. It said that in some instances, the men got itineraries that looked like those often sent to models for photo shoots, leaving the men in the dark about what they were signing up for.
Jeffries and Smith employed Jacobson to recruit and hire the men, who typically had to undergo “tryouts” by having sex with Jacobson first, according to the indictment. It says other, unnamed household staffers also helped facilitate the events, including by acting as security and providing alcohol, muscle relaxants, Viagra and other items.
Peace described them as “secret staff” employed specifically for these events, and added that millions of dollars were spent on the entire enterprise, including hundreds of thousands in cash to pay for commercial sex.
The defendants “used force, fraud and coercion to traffick those men for their own sexual gratification,” Peace said.
The men were subjected to some sex acts without consent, and when witnesses threatened to expose what was going on, Jeffries and Smith used a security company to surveil and intimidate them into silence, according to a letter that prosecutors filed in court.
Peace said at the news conference that prosecutors have “a lot of evidence,” including travel records, financial documents and testimony from accusers and witnesses.
Jeffries became CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch in 1992 and left in 2014. The New Albany, Ohio-based company, which also encompasses Hollister and other brands, declined to comment on his arrest.
Prosecutors don’t allege that the company’s resources or property were used in the alleged sex scheme.
Allegations first came to light in media reports
Abercrombie last year said it had hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation after the BBC reported on similar allegations from a dozen men.
In Tuesday’s update, Peace said that investigators first became aware of the situation due to media reports.
A lawsuit filed in New York last year accused Abercrombie of allowing Jeffries to run a sex-trafficking organization during his 22-year tenure. It said that Jeffries had modelling scouts scouring the internet for victims, and that some prospective models became sex-trafficking victims. At the time, Bieber declined to comment on the allegations.
Prosecutors believe that there may be other victims beyond the 15 included in the indictment, stating that the investigation is still ongoing.
Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson will travel to New York within the next couple of weeks to be arraigned after their first court appearances, Peace said. Prosecutors are seeking “substantial” bail packages for Jeffries and Jacobson, and are seeking detention for Smith, who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and the U.K.
Jeffries sparked controversy during run as Abercrombie CEO
Abercrombie & Fitch traces its roots to a hunting and outdoors goods store that was founded in 1892. By the time Jeffries arrived a century later, the brand was a retail also-ran.
He was credited with transforming it into a darling of turn-of-the-millennium teen mall culture, known for its nouveau-preppy aesthetic — and for its sexy ads and store events featuring shirtless, muscular male models.
Jeffries talked openly about how the company went after attractive kids who could fit into its clothes, remarks which alienated many customers. This and the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession prompted some teens to look to less expensive “fast fashion” chains. A&F’s popularity started to fade. By the time Jeffries left, the company’s sales were slumping, and a hedge fund had pushed the board to replace him.
A few months later, the retailer announced it would stop using “sexualized” photos in marketing materials in its shops, calling store staffers “models” and requiring them to adhere to a “look policy.” The company told regional managers it wouldn’t “tolerate discrimination based on body type or physical attractiveness.”
The company has rebounded in recent years.