On Friday, October 27, a former male model working for the American fashion brand Abercrombie & Fitch sued the company for funding and aiding its ex-CEO Mike Jeffries in running a sex trafficking organization during his 22-year tenure.
Abercrombie & Fitch sued over ex-CEO’s alleged sex abuse of models, sex trafficking https://t.co/xWdxntlqe7 pic.twitter.com/rC5SxwVCYN
— New York Post (@nypost) October 27, 2023
According to media reports, the lawsuit filed in the case accused the company’s ex-CEO Mike Jeffries and his British partner Matthew Smith of sex trafficking, sexual misconduct and rape.
According to media reports the New York Adult Survivors Act has been invoked in the aforementioned case. This Act permits individuals to file civil sexual abuse claims that would have otherwise been beyond the statute of limitations.
The lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York read that A&F allowed ex-CEO Mike Jeffries “unfettered access” to resources to support his “criminal enterprise.”
It said that A&F knew, or should have known, it was providing the “financial lifeblood for a sex trafficking organisation” led by Mike Jeffries between at least 1992 and 2014 – while he was CEO of the company.
It further accused Mike Jeffries of being allowed to use A&F’s corporate resources including a jet, transportation, and unlimited amounts of cash to facilitate a sex-trafficking venture, which enabled him to accumulate “new victims at an alarming rate” and he also had access to aspiring models.
“Abercrombie cared about profiting and showed absolute loyalty to Jeffries, including a willingness to spend copious amounts of money on extravagant drug and sex parties, ignoring multiple red flags of criminality in Jeffries’s corporate account activity,” the legal document claims.
According to the lawsuit, company employees were aware of Jeffries’ sexually predatory behaviour. It further added that a video had gone viral around the corporate office that allegedly showed Jeffries “sniffing what was believed to be cocaine off a man’s penis.”
“While Abercrombie tried to prevent the video from being more widely disseminated, the company did nothing to discourage the behaviour captured in the video and continued to financially reward Jeffries,” the lawsuit read.
The complaint notably was filed after BBC published a report, at the beginning of this month, alleging that Jeffries when serving as CEO, exploited men at events he hosted around the world. The report said that the media outlet had carried out an investigation into the allegation for over two years.
The expose that BBC titled “The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool,” was aired on BBC One and uncovered a series of allegations related to exploitation and misconduct by the ex-CEO of A&F.
The media outlet interviewed as many as 12 men who confirmed either attending or organising events involving sex acts run for Jeffries and his British partner Smith between 2009 and 2015.
Of these twelve males, eight said they had taken part in one of the A&F events. They confirmed that they were hired by a middleman who they described as wearing a snakeskin patch over his missing nose. The BBC had identified this middleman to be James Jacobson. Some of these eight male models further confirmed to BBC that they were sexually exploited or abused by the former CEO of A&F Mike Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith.
The middleman, however, denied any wrongdoing and hinted that the men who participated in these events knew what they were heading for. BBC quoted him as saying that the men went into these events “with their eyes wide open”.
After BBC revealed the truth, two former US prosecutors then independently reviewed the documents and testimony of victims. After this, they urged that an investigation in conducted to determine whether charges for sex trafficking should be filed against the clothing giant and its ex-CEO Mike Jeffries.
BBC also approached A&F after uncovering the scandal. A&F, which operates over 850 stores globally, including its famous Hollister brand, responded by saying that it was “appalled and disgusted” by the alleged behaviour. It further claimed that it hired an “outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation” into the allegations.
Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch is an American clothing retailer marketing casual wear to preteens, teens, and young adults. It has its headquarters in New Albany, Ohio.
Abercrombie & Fitch was founded by David Abercrombie in 1892 as Abercrombie Co. A retail sporting goods concern based in New York City, it was famed for its wide variety of expensive and often exotic sporting equipment and attire, ranging from tennis shoes to elephant guns. The company’s name was changed to Abercrombie & Fitch in 1904.
In 2002, A&F sparked a controversy after it took out a T-shirt that showed Chinese laundry workers with conical hats and the phrase, “Wong Brothers Laundry Service: Two Wongs Can Make It White”. After multiple complaints were filed against the company accusing it of being racially insensitive, A&F pulled the controversial T-shirt.
Jeffries, who quit Abercrombie in 2014, transformed the company from a struggling retailer of hunting clothes to a seller of must-have teen clothing. However, he was chastised for the company’s sexualized promotion
