Michael Jeffries, Ex-Abercrombie CEO, Charged With Running Sex-Trafficking Ring

Prosecutors said Michael Jeffries and two others coerced dozens of men into sex acts during Mr. Jeffries’s tenure at the clothing company.

Michael S. Jeffries, the former longtime chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch, was indicted on Tuesday on charges of running an international sex-trafficking scheme during several years of his tenure at the company.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn accused Mr. Jeffries, who ran the clothing retailer from 1992 to 2014, of using force, fraud and coercion to lure dozens of men to events around the world, where they were sexually exploited by Mr. Jeffries and his romantic partner. The indictment, which includes accusations from 15 people who said they had been coerced into sex acts, echoes allegations first unearthed last year by a BBC investigation and a class-action lawsuit accusing Mr. Jeffries of using the prospect of modeling jobs at Abercrombie to exploit and abuse them.

Mr. Jeffries, 80, and his partner, Matthew Smith, 61, were arrested in Florida on Tuesday morning and are expected to appear in federal court in West Palm Beach later in the day, said John Marzulli, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York. A third person, James Jacobson, 71, was also arrested on Tuesday, in Wisconsin, and indicted. He will appear in federal court in St. Paul, Minn., Mr. Marzulli said.

From 2008 to 2015, Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Smith employed Mr. Jacobson to act as a recruiter, according to the indictment. Mr. Jacobson paid men to engage in sex acts with him; he would then choose the ones who would travel to events in New York City, the Hamptons and elsewhere across the globe for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex, prosecutors said.

Mr. Jeffries “was using his power, his wealth and his influence to traffic men for his own sexual pleasure, and that of his romantic partner,” Breon S. Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said at a news conference announcing the indictment.

The former executive and his co-conspirators convinced aspiring male models that attending their secretive events, which were operated by staff bound by nondisclosure agreements, could lead to modeling opportunities, according to the indictment. The men said Mr. Jeffries threatened them, warning that failure to comply with requests for certain acts during the events could harm their career prospects, prosecutors said.

An Abercrombie spokeswoman declined to comment on Mr. Jeffries’s arrest.

The men were pressured to consume alcohol, Viagra and muscle relaxants during the events, and they were forced to engage in sex acts without their consent, according to the indictment. The victims, at least one of whom was as young as 19, were also not able to leave the events without Mr. Jeffries’s and Mr. Smith’s approval, prosecutors said.

If convicted of the sex trafficking charges, the three defendants could face at least 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. A conviction on the interstate prostitution charges could result in a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed last year also accused Abercrombie of being complicit in the sex-trafficking scheme. The company, according to the suit, ignored Mr. Jeffries’s conduct, which included withdrawing money from corporate-affiliated accounts to pay victims.

Abercrombie said previously that the company was “appalled and disgusted” by the allegations against its former chief. The retailer hired an outside law firm last year to investigate the accusations.

Brian Bieber, a lawyer for Mr. Jeffries, declined to comment on the sex trafficking charges, but he said Mr. Jeffries’s legal team intended to “respond in detail to the allegations” in court “when appropriate.” Lawyers for Mr. Smith also said they would respond “in the courthouse — not the media.”

Brittany Henderson, a partner at the law firm representing plaintiffs in the class-action suit against Abercrombie and Mr. Jeffries, said the arrests were “monumental for the aspiring male models who were victimized by these individuals.”

“Their fight for justice does not end here,” Ms. Henderson said. “Our clients look forward to holding Abercrombie and Fitch liable for facilitating this terrible conduct and ensuring that this cannot happen again.”

The three defendants will be arraigned in New York by early next week, said Mr. Peace, the U.S. attorney. Prosectors are seeking detention for Mr. Smith, who is a dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom, and bail packages for Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Jacobson, he added.

When Mr. Jeffries resigned from his role at Abercrombie in 2014, he left the retailer — once a dominant player in the teenage clothing market — in a fragile state, marred by sluggish sales and accusations of discrimination.