ABERCROMBIE & Fitch's ex-CEO, who's accused of luring hopeful models into perverse sex parties with promises of success, has pleaded not guilty to trafficking charges. Mike Jeffries , 80, allegedly ran a scheme where he scouted hopeful models to appease his sick sexual fantasies. Jeffries, his partner, Matt Smith, 61, and Jim Jacobson, who is accused of working as Jeffries' middleman in the scheme, were all arrested on Tuesday.
Smith and Jeffries were cuffed in Palm Beach, Florida, where the former CEO posted a $10 million bond before he was sent to Long Island, New York, to face charges. On Friday, Jeffries walked into the hearing wearing a suit with an ankle monitor peeking out from his leg to plead not guilty to the charges, the BBC reports. Jacobson, who was sitting one row behind the fashion mogul, also pleaded not guilty.
Smith will appear in court at a later date. Outside of the courthouse, Jeffries flashed a concerned look as he breezed past reporters and avoided their questions. He got into a car and went back to his home on Fisher Island, where he remains on house arrest.
Jeffries ran Abercrombie from 1992 to 2014 and is the mastermind behind the brand's salacious style that saw pictures of naked male torsos plastered across stores and packaging. Abercrombie became a worldwide sensation under his leadership, and prosecutors say Jeffries used this power to trick young men into becoming his newest sexual objects. Jeffries hired Jacobson to seek out handsome young men .
