Who is Mike Jeffries, former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO charged with sex trafficking and prostitution involving dozens of men

Mike Jeffries, the former longtime chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch, has been criminally charged with sex trafficking and prostitution involving dozens of men.

The 16-count indictment was unveiled on Tuesday by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn a decade after Jeffries left the retailer he built over 22 years into a popular clothing brand known for sexually charged marketing.

It followed a BBC investigation and proposed class action lawsuit accusing Jeffries of baiting young men with the prospect of modeling jobs to lure them into traveling around the world so they could be sexually abused.


Brian Bieber, a lawyer for Jeffries, said in an email that he would respond to the charges in court. Lawyers for Smith did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Jeremy Schneider, a lawyer for Jacobson, declined to comment.

Who is Mike Jeffries?

Jeffries was hired in 1992 by Leslie Wexner, founder of the company’s former parent, Limited Brands (now L Brands), which also owned Victoria’s Secret. He used racy marketing to sell an aspirational image of the “cool kid,” one who plays rugby barechested and sports an “all-American” look, according to Bloomberg report.

The businessman has also been sued over allegations he forced models to take drugs and engage in sex acts with him and others in exchange for the chance to be featured in the company’s provocative fashion catalogs. One lawsuit against him and Abercrombie, in federal court in Manhattan, alleges that he used his position to recruit men and invite them to casting sessions at his homes in New York, the Hamptons and elsewhere.

According to the suit, filed by former Abercrombie model David Bradberry, the ex-CEO used his role “to prey upon attractive young men who believed that Jeffries was going to hire them as an Abercrombie model — the pinnacle of the modeling industry for men during the relevant time period.”

Bradberry claims Abercrombie “knew that it was providing the financial lifeblood for a sex-trafficking organization led by its CEO from at least 1992 through 2014,” and that there could be more than 100 victims.

Lawyers for Jeffries and Abercrombie defended themselves in a filing this month, seeking the suit’s dismissal.

(with Bloomberg inputs)