The former CEO of the American ready-to-wear brand Abercrombie & Fitch Mike Jeffries, his partner and another suspect have been arrested for sex trafficking and pimping, accused of having trapped and exploited dozens of aspiring models, announced Tuesday authorities in New York.
Mike Jeffries, CEO from 1992 to 2014 of this global brand and at the time very popular with young people, “used his power, his wealth and his influence to exploit men for his pleasure and that of his companion Matthew Smith”, charged the federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York where the investigation is being conducted, Breon Peace.
Now aged 80, Mr. Jeffries was arrested with Mr. Smith in West Palm Beach, Florida, where they reside and are due to appear in court on Tuesday.
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A year after a BBC investigation on the subject, and while a civil action is underway in the United States, the prosecutor described a well-established system of exploitation of “aspiring models who knew that a place in the “One of Abercrombie’s iconic ads could be a ticket to success in the fashion industry.”
Concretely, the couple’s intermediary and third suspect, James Jacobson, was responsible for “recruiting” and “testing” young men around the world by paying them to have sex, while promising them a contract, described Breon Peace.
Once selected, the victims were taken to the couple’s residences, in the upscale Hamptons region near New York or to hotels in England, France, Italy or Morocco to have sexual relations with the CEO of the brand and his companion, reported the New York prosecutor.
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“Dozens” of victims
According to him, the victims were unaware of what awaited them during these meetings which they thought would be beneficial for their careers.
The couple is accused of making them take Viagra, poppers and alcohol to satisfy their cravings.
“On several occasions, when the men did not consent or were not able to do so, MM. Jeffries and Smith violated their bodily integrity by subjecting or continuing to subject them to intrusive and violent sexual contact,” the prosecutor said.
According to the indictment, the victims, who numbered in “dozens” according to Breon Peace, had to sign confidentiality contracts not to reveal anything about what was happening.
The couple “spent millions of dollars” to support such a system and maintain its secrecy, on travel, hotel room rentals, and payments for sex.
Mike Jeffries was landed at the end of 2014 from Abercrombie, with a golden parachute of 25 million dollars, after declaring that his group’s clothes were not for “fat people”.
In the following months, the company had given up one of its trademarks, models with sculptural torsos and wasp-waisted saleswomen dressed very short to lure customers into its stores. In 2015, the American Supreme Court castigated its refusal to hire a veiled woman in a resounding decision.
“Today’s arrests are of monumental importance for the aspiring male models who were victims of these individuals,” reacted to AFP one of the lawyers representing certain civil plaintiffs, Brittany Henderson.
“Their fight for justice does not stop there. We will hold Abercrombie & Fitch accountable for facilitating these terrible acts and ensure it never happens again,” she added.
