NEW YORK – Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was arrested Tuesday in connection with a federal sex trafficking and interstate prostitution investigation, law enforcement sources told CBS News New York.
Prosecutors are expected to reveal more details in a news conference expected around noon in Brooklyn.
Jeffries had previously been named in a class action lawsuit that accused him of running a “widespread sex-trafficking operation.” That lawsuit claimed he allegedly used his position at the company to prey on young men by suggesting the company would hire them as models.
The lawsuit alleged Jeffries lured young men to his estate in the Hamptons for casting interviews. Once there, he allegedly made them sign non-disclosure agreements, strip down, take drugs, and perform sex acts with himself and his partner Matthew Smith, according to the lawsuit.
Jeffries is expected to appear in a Palm Beach, Florida courtroom Tuesday afternoon.
Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Bieber, said in an email to the Associated Press he would “respond in detail to the allegations after the indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse – not the media.”
Jeffries became CEO of the company in 1992, and left in 2014 with a reported retirement package of over $25 million, according to the lawsuit. Abercrombie & Fitch said it had no comment on the arrest.
The company has previously said it hired a law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations.
Check back soon for more on this developing story.
