Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries took male models into room to be sexually assaulted after fake job interviews, lawyer claims

Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries has been accused of sexually assaulting male models after conducting fake job interviews.

Jeffries, 80, and his longtime partner Matthew Smith were arrested Tuesday in West Palm Beach on sex trafficking charges. A third man, Jim Jacobson, was arrested in the same case in Wisconsin.

Attorney Brad Edwards, who is representing more than a dozen alleged victims in a lawsuit, said NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo that Jeffries used his role at Abercrombie to lure young male models and sexually assault them.

‘There’s nothing consensual about it. These were young aspiring models who were sought out and promised to essentially be Abercrombie models,” Edwards said.

The men underwent “an interview” with Jeffries before being “brought into a room” where “the most heinous sexual crimes were committed against them,” the lawyer said.

Jeffries, right, was released from jail on Tuesday on a $10 million bond by a magistrate at the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Edwards added: “They were all forced to wear Abercrombie clothing to events that were decorated as if it were an Abercrombie store… made to sign non-disclosure agreements, and told that if they ever made this public, there would be bad things would happen to them, reputationally and financially. , physically.’

Jeffries was released on $10 million bail just hours after his arrest. He grinned as he walked with his lawyers to a waiting car outside, wearing a dark blue sweater over a polo shirt and white shorts, and what appeared to be slippers.

Jacobson, who is accused of procuring the men for Jeffries and his partner, was released on $500,000 bond.

Smith, who is a dual U.S. and British citizen, was arrested after prosecutors raised concerns he could flee the country.

Prosecutors say the three men lured men to drug-filled, bizarre and coercive sex parties by dangling the promise of modeling work in front of the retailer’s once-defining beefcake ads.

According to the indictment, between 2008 and 2015, Jacobson, Jeffries and Smith paid dozens of men to travel to have sex with them and other men in New York and at hotels in England, France, Italy, Morocco and St. Barts.

Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith (left) are accused of recruiting men for sex parties and forcing them to perform sex acts

The men said they were recruited by an intermediary identified as James Jacobson, who denies any wrongdoing

Detectives said the men typically underwent “tryouts” by first having sex with Jacobson, who acted as a recruiter for his bosses. He has a snakeskin nose.

The sometimes explicit indictment describes sexual bacchanalia in which the recruited men were given drugs, lubricant, condoms, costumes, sex toys and sometimes erection-inducing penile injections that caused painful reactions that lasted for hours.

They are accused of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution involving 15 unnamed accusers.

Federal prosecutors charged the three men after a BBC documentary featured several men claiming they were victims of them.

Jeffries’ reign at Abercrombie & Fitch was dominated by the controversial brand image and the equally controversial comments he made about his customer base

Jeffries left Abercrombie & Fitch in 2014. The New Albany, Ohio-based company, which includes Hollister, declined to comment on his arrest.

Prosecutors do not allege that the company’s resources or property were used in the alleged sex scheme.

Abercrombie said last year it had hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation after the BBC reported similar allegations from a dozen men.

A lawyer for Jeffries has previously said: “We will respond in detail to the allegations after the indictment is unsealed, and as appropriate, but intend to do so in the courthouse – not in the media.”