File: Mike Jeffries, then CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch in 2005.
Michael Loccisano | FilmMagic | Getty Images
Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was arrested in Florida and faces sex-trafficking charges, a spokesman for federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, told CNBC on Tuesday.
Two of Jeffries’ associates, Matthew Smith of West Palm Beach, Florida, and James Jacobson of Wisconsin, are also charged in connection with the case, the spokesman said.
The criminal case comes a year after the clothing company, Jeffries & Smith, was sued in Manhattan federal court for allegedly turning a blind eye to sexual harassment by the former CEO.
Jeffries was accused in that federal civil suit of running a sex-trafficking ring that exploited young men hoping to become models for the company.
The arrests come as Abercrombie is in the midst of a turnaround under CEO Fran Horowitz, who took over in 2017.
The company has ditched the sexy models and skimpy clothing that made the store ideal for teenage mall shoppers in the 1990s and 2000s, but later courted controversy and fell out of favor with consumer trends.
Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch are up nearly 80% so far this year after outperforming tech stars such as Nvidia and After in 2023.
Abercrombie & Fitch declined CNBC’s request for comment.
Jeffries and Smith will make their first court appearance later Tuesday in West Palm Beach federal court. Jacobson will appear in federal court in Madison, Wisconsin.
All three men will be arraigned later in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the spokesman said.
Brian Bieber, Michael Jeffries’ attorney, said in a statement to NBC News: “We will respond in detail to the allegations after the indictment is unsealed and when appropriate, but we intend to do so in court – not in the media.”
The news about Jeffries came hours before federal prosecutors in Brooklyn were scheduled to hold a press conference to announce the arrests of a “former major company CEO” and two others in a “sex trafficking and interstate prostitution case.”
This press is set for 12 p.m. ET.
The previously filed civil suit against Abercrombie claims the company has already settled several complaints “relating to inappropriate acts by Jeffries or Smith, some of which involved sexual harassment or abuse.”
An amended complaint in that case, filed in September, notes that the BBC found after a 2023 investigation that “Jeffries and Smith sexually exploited more than 100 men during Abercrombie events they hosted around the world.”
Attorney Brittany Henderson of Edwards Henderson, the law firm representing the plaintiff in the class action, said in a statement to CNBC: “Today’s arrests are monumental for the aspiring male models who are being victimized by these individuals.”
“Their fight for justice does not end here. We look forward to holding Abercrombie and Fitch accountable for facilitating this terrible behavior and making sure it can’t happen again,” Henderson said.
Jeffries served as Abercrombie’s CEO from 1992 to 2014. Smith was described in the civil suit as a longtime associate of Jeffries and “someone of apparent authority whom Abercrombie allowed to work extensively on the brand despite not holding an official position in company. “
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