The FBI opened a criminal investigation into allegations that former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO controlled an elaborate sexual abuse and trafficking ring that targeted young men.
The BBC, who first broke the allegations against the fashion brand’s former boss, Mike Jeffries in a Panorama documentary in October, reports that witnesses are being subpoenaed and interviews are underway.
The investigation is being led by a special FBI unit that specializes in sexual abuse crimes and by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Jeffries, 77, and his long-time partner Matthew Smith are accused of engaging in sex trafficking between 2009 and 2015 with accusers Barrett Pall and David Bradberry claiming that they were recruited for ‘modelling opportunities’ through a middleman named James Jacobson but found themselves sexually exploited.
Jeffries retired from the company in 2014 and has denied the allegations.
Allegations were made on the BBC that a ‘highly organised network’ used a middleman to find young men for businessman Mike Jeffries, 79
![Modelling opportunities with A&F were said to have been raised before they met Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith, pictured](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/17/09/76083117-12972937-Modelling_opportunities_with_A_F_were_said_to_have_been_raised_b-a-11_1705484429795.jpg)
Modelling opportunities with A&F were said to have been raised before they met Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith, pictured
![The men said they were recruited by a middleman identified as James Jacobson, who denies any wrongdoing.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/17/09/76083119-12972937-The_men_said_they_were_recruited_by_a_middleman_identified_as_Ja-a-10_1705484407134.jpg)
The men said they were recruited by a middleman identified as James Jacobson, who denies any wrongdoing.
In October, Bradberry launched a lawsuit against the retailer over the couple’s alleged misdeeds.
Bradberry filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that Jeffries had modeling scouts scouring the internet and elsewhere to identify attractive young men seeking to be the next face of Abercrombie.
Often these prospective models became sex-trafficking victims, sent to New York and abroad and abused by Jeffries and other men, all under the guise that they were being recruited to become the next Abercrombie model, the lawsuit contends.
‘Jeffries was so important to the profitability of the brand that he was given complete autonomy to perform his role as CEO however he saw fit, including through the use of blatant international sex-trafficking and abuse of prospective Abercrombie models,’ the suit alleges.
The lawsuit names Jeffries, Smith, and the Jeffries Family Office LLC. It seeks class-action status and estimates that over a hundred young models, in addition to Bradberry, were victims.
A&F, based in New Albany, Ohio, has yet to comment on the suit.
In November, Bradberry’s lawyer told the Wall Street Journal that Abercrombie had a ‘willingness to enable a sexually abusive and exploitative environment to drive profits.’
In his filings, Bradberry reiterates allegations which first surfaced in a BBC documentary in which 12 men came forward with their own claims of sexual abuse.
Bradberry alleges that in 2010 when aged 23, he was approached by a ‘middle man’ for the couple named James Jacobson, who presented himself as an agent.
![Michael S. Jeffries, chairman and CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, speaks at the annual National Retail Federation conference Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009 in New York](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/17/09/76083533-12972937-Michael_S_Jeffries_chairman_and_CEO_of_Abercrombie_Fitch_speaks_-a-9_1705484318091.jpg)
Michael S. Jeffries, chairman and CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, speaks at the annual National Retail Federation conference Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009 in New York
![David Bradberry, then 23, told the programme he was introduced to Mr Jacobson by an agent who described him as the gatekeeper to 'the owners' of A&F](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/17/10/76079945-12972937-David_Bradberry_then_23_told_the_programme_he_was_introduced_to_-a-17_1705486923852.jpg)
David Bradberry, then 23, told the programme he was introduced to Mr Jacobson by an agent who described him as the gatekeeper to ‘the owners’ of A&F
![Barrett Pall, a former model turned life coach and activist, said he felt pressured into attending an event in the Hamptons in 2011](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/17/09/76079937-12972937-Barrett_Pall_a_former_model_turned_life_coach_and_activist_said_-a-12_1705484445716.jpg)
Barrett Pall, a former model turned life coach and activist, said he felt pressured into attending an event in the Hamptons in 2011
He claims Jacobson intimated that he would be denied a meeting with Jeffries unless he let him perform oral sex on him and later gave him cash for the encounter.
He alleges he was provided with Abercrombie gift cards and ordered to pick up clothes for himself ahead of a casting in May 2010. He also claimed to have been told to sign an NDA.
The lawsuit states that Bradberry was then raped by Jeffries and forced to have sex with other men at the former CEO’s Hamptons home in front of Abercrombie-clad security guards. He also claims he was given a drug which made him woozy.
He received $2500 in cash and was flown to casting events in Nice, France and London under guise he would be given a modelling contract but was instead assaulted again, according to the court documents.
Bradberry claims the company was aware of the scheme and provided Abercrombie resources to pay him ‘hush money’. Bradberry was never hired to work for the brand, the filings state.
The lawsuit filed Manhattan federal court on Friday is seeking an unspecified amount of damages.
It also states that Smith was given ‘unusual access’ to the company and allowed to attend private board meetings and conduct around 170 store visits in two years.
In 2023, the retailer said that it had hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the issues raised by the BBC.
It said the company’s current leaders and board of directors were not aware of the allegations of Jeffries’ sexual misconduct.
‘For close to a decade, a new executive leadership team and refreshed board of directors have successfully transformed our brands and culture into the values-driven organization we are today,’ the company said.
‘We have zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or discrimination of any kind.’
In the aftermath of the BBC documentary, Abercrombie suspended an annual $1 million bonus it was paying Jeffries.
In a statement to the BBC on November 21, the brand said that it had come to the decision to cease paying out the bonus.
It was paid in addition to Jeffries’ standard pension. At the time of his retirement his package was reported to amount to $27 million.