Former Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries has been arrested for sex trafficking and interstate prostitution.
Jeffries’ British partner Matthew Smith and another man, Jim Jacobson, were also arrested on Thursday in the same case ABC News.
The three men are accused of sexually exploiting and abusing young men at parties they hosted in the US and around the world.
Prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York said in January they had launched a criminal investigation after several men publicly alleged they had been abused by Jeffries and his partner, 80 and 61.
Jeffries and his longtime partner were accused in a BBC documentary of engaging in sex trafficking between 2009 and 2015. They have denied the allegations.
Former Abercrombie & Fitch boss Mike Jeffries is facing new allegations of sexual exploitation of men during his time as the fashion brand’s CEO
Plaintiffs Barrett Pall and David Bradberry alleged they were recruited for “modeling opportunities” through an intermediary – Jacobson – but were sexually exploited.
Dozens of men have said they were approached and coerced into attending sex parties specially put together for Jeffries’ entertainment.
In October, plaintiff Bradberry filed a lawsuit against the retailer over the couple’s alleged misdeeds.
Bradberry filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that Jeffries had model scouts scouring the Internet and elsewhere to identify attractive young men who wanted to become the next face of Abercrombie.
Often, these future models were victims of sex trafficking, sent to New York and abroad and abused by Jeffries and other men, all under the guise that they were being recruited to become the next Abercrombie model, the lawsuit states.
David Bradberry, then 23, told the BBC that he was introduced to Jacobson by an agent who described him as the gatekeeper for “the owners” of A&F
Barrett Pall, a former model turned life coach and activist, said he felt pressured to attend an event in the Hamptons in 2011.
“Jeffries was so important to the brand’s profitability that he was given complete autonomy to carry out his role as CEO as he saw fit, including through blatant international sex trafficking and abuse of future Abercrombie models,” the lawsuit alleges. indictment.
Attorneys for the victims of the class action lawsuit said Tuesday that “today’s arrests are monumental for the aspiring male models who have been victimized by these individuals.”
“We look forward to holding Abercrombie and Fitch accountable for facilitating this terrible behavior and ensuring it cannot happen again,” the statement said.
Abercrombie has previously said it is “shocked and disgusted” by the allegations against Jeffries.
Jeffries, who left Abercrombie in 2014, transformed the chain from a struggling hunting clothing retailer to a seller of essential teen clothing. But he was criticized for the company’s sexualized marketing, which included billboards and stocky models that alienated potential customers who did not fit the company’s image.