Mike Jeffries, who was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. from 1992 by way of 2014, was arrested Tuesday and has been charged with 16 counts of intercourse trafficking and interstate prostitution, based on the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace within the Jap District of New York. The allegations span from 2008 to 2015 and contain two different defendants, together with Jeffries’ romantic companion.
Jeffries’ alleged crimes and management of the attire retailer have been linked, with prosecutors saying he leveraged his “energy because the CEO of Abercrombie” to run these enterprises and maintain them secret, based on the indictment filed Oct. 17 and unsealed Tuesday.
Particularly, prosecutors allege that males, together with a minimum of one as younger as 19, had been led “to consider that attending the Intercourse Occasions might yield modeling alternatives with Abercrombie or in any other case profit their careers” or that not complying to sure acts might hurt their alternatives with Abercrombie.
Breon Peace, U.S. Lawyer for the Jap District of New York, speaks Tuesday throughout a press convention, asserting the arrest of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries on intercourse trafficking and interstate prostitution expenses.
“Highly effective people for too lengthy have trafficked and abused, for their very own sexual pleasure, younger individuals with few sources and a dream, a dream of securing a profitable profession in trend or leisure,” EDNY’s U.S. Lawyer Breon Peace mentioned throughout a press convention Tuesday. “To anybody who thinks they will exploit and coerce others through the use of the so-called casting-couch system, this case ought to function a warning — put together to commerce that sofa for a mattress in federal jail.”
The incidents and conduct outlined within the indictment had been dropped at legislation enforcement’s consideration through media reviews, Peace mentioned. The investigation is ongoing, and Peace and FBI officers urged different victims or individuals with information of the matter to come back ahead.
Jeffries and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. additionally face a civil lawsuit, filed a 12 months in the past, underneath New York and federal human trafficking sufferer safety and different legal guidelines. That grievance describes an operation comparable to what’s in Tuesday’s legal indictment. The civil go well with, a category motion, claims that Abercrombie was not solely conscious of Jeffries’ alleged sex-trafficking operation but in addition participated in and benefited from it. The defendants, together with Jeffries and Abercrombie, have moved to dismiss the case.
Brian Bieber, legal professional for Jeffries, declined to touch upon the federal indictment of Jeffries or the category motion lawsuit.
“We are going to reply intimately to the allegations when applicable, however plan to take action within the courthouse — not the media,” he mentioned by electronic mail.
In an announcement posted to Instagram and despatched by electronic mail, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. mentioned the corporate is cooperating with the investigation.
“As we shared when the accusations had been first made public in October 2023, we’re appalled and disgusted by the alleged conduct of Mr. Jeffries, whose employment with Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ended almost ten years in the past,” an organization spokesperson mentioned by electronic mail. “ Talking up and coming ahead shouldn’t be simple, and our ideas stay with those that have bravely raised their voices as a part of the federal investigation. For near a decade, we now have efficiently remodeled our manufacturers and tradition into the values-driven group we’re at this time. We’ve zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or discrimination of any sort, and are dedicated to completely cooperating with legislation enforcement because the authorized course of continues.”
Lately the attire retailer has labored diligently to show the web page on the extremely sexualized advertising that was a trademark of Jeffries’ tenure, which frequently included posters that includes barely clothed male our bodies, with the merchandise extra of an afterthought. That method, together with a historical past of discrimination, was extensively blamed for the attire retailer’s declining gross sales and relevance in that period, together with its place on the American Buyer Satisfaction Index of least-liked manufacturers. Regardless of all that, the corporate struggled to switch him for years.
Beneath Fran Horowitz, a longtime service provider who has been CEO since 2017, the retailer and its sibling Hollister model have bounced again. In its most up-to-date quarter the corporate reported report Q2 internet gross sales of $1.1 billion, up 21% 12 months over 12 months, with the namesake model up 26% and internet revenue greater than doubling to $135.4 million.
“Ten or so years in the past, many had written off Abercrombie & Fitch,” GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders mentioned in emailed feedback earlier this 12 months. “At present, the corporate is producing extraordinary outcomes which mark it out as among the finest performers within the retail market.”
Editor’s word: This story has been up to date to incorporate an announcement from Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
