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Mike Jeffries, the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF-3.55%), has been arrested on sex trafficking charges, federal authorities said Tuesday.
NBC News reports that Jeffries was arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida, on charges brought by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Jeffries, who ran the clothing brand from 1992 to 2014, is also facing interstate prostitution charges.
Jeffries has yet to comment publicly. He was arrested along with Matthew Smith of West Palm Beach and James Jacobson of Wisconsin, NBC News (CMCSA+1.27%) reports.
“The defendants allegedly preyed on the hopes and dreams of their victims by exploiting, abusing, and silencing them to fulfill their own desires, with insidious secret intentions,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said in a statement. “This case is yet another example of individuals using their wealth, power, or reputation to manipulate and control others for their personal gratification.”
A 2023 BBC investigation alleged that Jeffries and Smith, his partner, exploited young men at sex parties organized through a middleman, Jacobson. Twelve men told the network about the events that they were paid to attend. About half said they understood the gatherings were sexual in nature before attending and the other half said they didn’t know.
The BBC alleged that Jeffries and his partner would have sex with attendees or “direct” attendees to have sex with each other. Attendees were reportedly given envelopes with thousands of dollars in cash after the events.
BBC accused Jacobson of being the middleman in the events, which allegedly took place in London, New York, and Morocco. One attendee, David Bradberry, was an aspiring Abercrombie model. He said Jacobson “made it clear to me that unless I let him perform oral sex on me, that I would not be meeting with Abercrombie & Fitch or Mike Jeffries.” Bradberry said he felt like he was “paralyzed.”
Barrett Pall, another young model who attended one of Jeffries’ events, told the BBC: “This experience, I think it broke me.”
“I think that this stole any ounce of innocence that I had left. It mentally messed me up,” Pall said. “But with the language I now have today, I can sit here and tell you that I was taken advantage of.”
Another man, who did not use his full name, told the BBC he believes he was drugged and raped at one of Jeffries’s events, saying he woke up with a condom inside of him but no memory of sex.
A lawyer for Jeffries told the BBC last year that “Mike Jeffries is 79 years old and retired. In years past, he has chosen not to comment on media reports, documentaries and stories of any kind as they relate to his personal life — and does not plan on doing so now.”
Jacobson denied to the network that there was “any coercive, deceptive or forceful behavior on my part” and said he had “no knowledge of any such conduct by others.”
Abercrombie launched an investigation into Jeffries following the BBC report. Abercrombie and Jeffries were soon sued over the misconduct in a civil suit that claimed more than a 100 men were abused by Jeffries and that the company ignored his conduct, CNBC reported.
“Today’s arrests are monumental for the aspiring male models who were victimized by these individuals,” Brittany Henderson, a lawyer representing victims in the suit, told NBC in a statement Tuesday.
“Their fight for justice does not end here,” said Henderson. “We look forward to holding Abercrombie and Fitch liable for facilitating this terrible conduct and ensuring that this cannot happen again.”