Former longtime chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch, Mike Jeffries, has been criminally charged with sex trafficking and prostitution involving multiple men.
The 16-count indictment was unveiled on Tuesday, October 22 by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, a decade after Jeffries left the retailer fashion brand that he’d built fir more than 22 years.
Jeffries charge is following a BBC investigation and proposed class action lawsuit where Jeffries was accuses of luring young men with the prospect of modeling jobs to bait them into traveling around the world so they could be sexually abused.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace, whose office clinched a conviction and 30-year prison term for the singer R Kelly for sex trafficking had said that powerful people “have for too long sexually abused young people who yearned for careers in fashion and entertainment”.
The defendants include Jeffries, aged 80, his partner Matthew Smith, aged 61, and James Jacobson, aged 71, with the latter allegedly tasked wit recruiting men for the formers.
Each man was charged with one count of sex trafficking and 15 counts of interstate prostitution related to 15 unnamed victims between 2008 and 2015.
If they are convicted, they face possible life sentences and the mandatory minimum 15-year prison terms for the sex trafficking charges. However, they face up to 20 years in prison for the interstate prostitution charges.
All three defendants were apprehended on Tuesday and are expected to appear in courts in Florida and Minnesota. They may also appear in Brooklyn later this week or next.
Peace is planning to seek bail of at least $10 million for Jeffries, $500,000 for Jacobson, and home confinement for both men. He however, wants Smith, a dual U.S.-British citizen, to be imprisoned until his trial due to risk of flight.
Meanwhile, one of Jeffries’ lawyer, Brian Bieber, said in an email that he would respond to the charges in court. The lawyers for Smith and Jeremy Schneider did not make any comments.
Abercrombie, the fashion brand itself declined to comment and was not accused of wrongdoing.
Jeffries spear-headed Abercrombie from 1992 to 2014, making it a prosperous teen apparel maker known for its cologne-filled stores and ads featuring semi-nude models.
He however, stepped down from the CEO role amid criticism from investors and analysts accusing him of failing to keep up with the changing tastes of teen shoppers.
