Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Faces FBI Investigation for Alleged Sexual Crimes

Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO, Mike Jeffries, is reportedly under FBI criminal investigation over accusations of sexually exploiting young male models at events organized worldwide.

Jeffries, along with his British partner Matthew Smith, is also confronting a civil lawsuit alleging their involvement in a sex-trafficking operation, as per a BBC investigation.

The inquiry involves federal prosecutors from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and FBI Agents specializing in alleged sex crimes, conducting interviews and issuing subpoenas for potential witnesses, according to the BBC.

The news of the criminal investigation surfaces months after the BBC released an extensive report accusing Jeffries and Smith of orchestrating elaborate events globally to sexually exploit and abuse young men.

Published in October 2023, at least eight men shared their experiences, describing them as acts akin to sex trafficking. The men claimed that Jeffries and Smith pressured them into engaging in sexual activities with themselves or each other under the guise of potential employment at Abercrombie & Fitch.

The BBC investigation included verified documents such as emails, event itineraries, and flight tickets, revealing a network of recruiters involved in the operation, along with a middleman, James Jacobson.

Jacobson allegedly recruited young men for what they believed were networking events in New York, London, Paris, Venice, and Marrakesh, only to be coerced into engaging sexually with Jeffries and Smith. After the events, witnessed by staff and security, the men were reportedly given envelopes containing thousands of dollars.

Upon the initial publication of the BBC investigation, Abercrombie & Fitch expressed being “appalled and disgusted” by the alleged behavior of its former CEO and initiated an independent investigation. Subsequently, the company has suspended a significant portion of Jeffries’ retirement payments, nearly one million USD annually.

Jeffries, credited with transforming Abercrombie & Fitch into a globally recognized retail powerhouse in the 1990s and early 2000s, employed bold marketing tactics, including the use of semi-nude models in advertising campaigns that stirred controversy during that period.