Mike Jeffries was the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch from 1992 until 2014, through the clothing brand and its half-naked models’ heyday and then downfall. On Oct. 22, he was arrested by the FBI and federal prosecutors in a sex trafficking investigation.
Jeffries was arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida, along with his partner, Matt Smith. Jeffries hosted countless parties in New York, London, and Venice, with Smith throughout his career. The two have been accused of exploiting young men for sex at such gatherings from 2009 to 2015. Another man, Jim Jacobson, was arrested in Wisconsin. He allegedly recruited their victims.
The federal investigation started last year after Jeffries was named in a civil class-action lawsuit by model David Bradberry alleging sex trafficking. He said more than 100 men were promised modeling opportunities in exchange for sexual favors.
“As we laid out in our lawsuit, this was an Abercrombie-run, sex trafficking organization that permeated throughout the company and allowed the three individuals arrested today to victimize dozens and dozens of young, aspiring male models,” Bradberry’s lawyer, Brad Edwards, told ABC News.
Brian Bieber, Michael Jeffries’s attorney, said that they “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.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York is handling the case, with more details expected to be revealed at a press conference scheduled for later today.
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