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Mike Jeffries, the erstwhile CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, was arrested alongside 2 men connected sex-trafficking and interstate prostitution charges, tribunal documents confirm.
By Hayley Santaflorentina Oct 22, 2024 4:01 PMTags
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Mike Jeffries is facing ineligible trouble.
The erstwhile CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch was arrested successful Florida Oct. 22 and faces charges of 1 number of sex-trafficking and 15 counts of interstate prostitution, arsenic seen successful tribunal documents obtained by E! News.
According to documents, his spouse Matthew Smith of Florida and a 3rd man, James Jacobson of Wisconsin, were besides arrested and person likewise been charged with the aforesaid counts successful transportation with the case.
The filing alleges Jacobson was an worker of Smith and Jeffries' whose occupation was "to recruit, interrogation and prosecute men to execute commercialized enactment acts for and astatine the absorption of Jeffries and Smith."
The papers further claims Jeffries and Smith "relied connected their immense fiscal resources, and galore people, including Jacobson and a web of employees, contractors and information professionals, to tally a concern that was dedicated to fulfilling their intersexual desires and ensuring that their planetary enactment trafficking and prostitution concern was kept secret, thereby maintaining Jeffries’ almighty reputation."
Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson are besides accused wrong the papers of coercing men into participating successful these intersexual events, and that the ambiance astatine the events themselves was likewise coercive.
Jeffries and Smith are scheduled to look successful national tribunal connected Oct. 22—the aforesaid time of their arrest—in the Southern District of Florida portion Jacobson volition look successful U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.
All 3 men volition beryllium arraigned successful U.S. District Court successful the Eastern District of New York astatine a aboriginal date.
Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic for Paul Wilmot Communications
While E! News reached retired to lawyers for the 3 men for remark and did not perceive back, Jeffries’ lawyer Brian Bieber told NBC News, “We volition respond successful item to the allegations aft the Indictment is unsealed, and erstwhile appropriate, but program to bash truthful successful the courthouse—not the media.”
The arrests travel conscionable implicit a twelvemonth aft Jeffries, 80, and Smith were the taxable of an investigative study from the BBC that claimed the 2 exploited men astatine enactment parties hosted by Jeffries.
According to the report, 12 men came guardant astir attending oregon organizing events betwixt 2009 and 2015 that included enactment acts for Jeffries and Smith. Of the 12, immoderate said they’d been exploited oregon did not enactment successful the acts willingly.
At the time, lawyers for Jeffries and Smith "vehemently denied" immoderate wrongdoing by some men to the BBC.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
It was soon aft that Abercrombie & Fitch and Jeffries were sued for allegedly turning a unsighted oculus to Jeffries’ misconduct, CNBC reported astatine the time, citing tribunal records. The suit further alleged Jeffries sexually abused aggregate men nether the guise it would pb them to modeling contracts.
An lawyer for the lawsuits Brittany Henderson told NBC News of the 3 arrests, “Today’s arrests are monumental for the aspiring antheral models who were victimized by these individuals. Their combat for justness does not extremity here.”
The connection continued, “We look guardant to holding Abercrombie and Fitch liable for facilitating this unspeakable behaviour and ensuring that this cannot hap again."
(E!, NBC News and CNBC are each portion of the NBCUniversal family.)
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