Rianna Croxford
BBC News

The FBI opened an investigation after the BBC released a podcast and documentary revealing allegations of sexual exploitation against the former fashion mogul and his British partner.

The series - World of Secrets: The Abercrombie Guys - takes listeners inside my two-year investigation for the BBC, which began in January 2021.

Several men bravely broke their silence after more than a decade to allege they had been abused by Mike Jeffries and Matthew Smith.

They also detailed claims that the couple were are the centre of a “well-oiled machine” involving recruiters and a middleman. The BBC unearthed flight tickets, itineraries and other documents that supported these claims.

Now, the men affected say are “shocked” and “humbled" that they are facing justice.

For years, they say they were silenced by non-disclosure agreements and feelings of shame. Now, they feel empowered their voices have led to accountability - and hope more men come forward.

• Listen to our investigation here - and if you're outside the of the UK, you can listen here, external

Here's a recap of some of the details that emerged from the FBI's presser a short while ago:

• Former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, Michael Jeffries, his partner, Matthew Smith and middleman James Jacobson are charged with sex trafficking and engaging in interstate prostitution
• The indictment alleges that the defendants trafficked and abused for their own sexual pleasure - targeting young people with a dream of a successful career in fashion or entertainment
• Jeffries and Smith are accused of employing Jacobson to act as a recruiter to find men. Jacobson engaged in so-called "try-outs" with men across the world
• Following the try-outs, Smith would often personally approve which men would meet Jeffries and Smith. Men who were selected would then be flown to various locations around the world, including the couple's homes, or hotels in England, France, Italy, Morocco and St Barts for the purpose of attending events to engage in commercial sex
• The indictment says that "beyond simply hiring men for sex", Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson used force, fraud and coercion to traffic those men for their own sexual gratification
• It alleges that they employed secret staff to operate the sex events - who ensured the men signed non-disclosure agreements and handed over their personal items such as phones before events started to "maintain secrecy"
• Defendants allegedly pressured men to consume alcohol, Viagra and muscle relaxants - known as poppers - during sex events, and had staff at the events throughout to make sure the men did not leave
• It's also alleged that the defendants directed others to inject, or personally injected, men with erection-inducing substances "for the purpose of causing the men to engage in sex acts the men were incapable of engaging in or unwilling to engage in"

As we just mentioned, Mike Jeffries, Matthew Smith and James Jacobson will all soon be brought to New York.

Prior to that, Jeffries and Smith are expected to appear at a federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Jacobson, who was arrested in Wisconsin, will make his initial appearance in federal court in St Paul, Minnesota, the Department of Justice says.

In the US, defendants are brought before a judge for an initial hearing on the day or day after they are arrested and charged.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from New York

Prosecutors have just laid out in detail the allegations against ex-Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries, his partner and an alleged middleman.

They said Jeffries used his wealth and power to take advantage of vulnerable young men, transporting them to various locations to abuse them sexually.

The number of victims is not known - but the indictment mentions at least 15 individuals.

The sex trafficking lasted from 2008 to 2015, and prosecutors say they were spurred to action by media reports. The BBC was the first to publish an investigation.

US attorney Breon Peace told reporters they had substantial evidence against the three men, including travel and other records.

Peace says the defendants will be brought to New York by the end of this week or early next week.

He says they are seeking detention in the case of Matthew Smith, who is a dual citizen of the UK and US, because the flight risk is "particularly acute".

He says they are seeking substantial bail packages for the other two - adding that those decisions are up to the judges.

And that marks the end of the press conference.

US Attorney Breon Peace is asked how the FBI became aware of the allegations against the three defendants.

Peace says they followed up after media reports were published and the FBI followed up on these.

The BBC was the first to report on these allegations in October 2023 - the FBI's investigation began in January the following year.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from New York

Prosecutors are now taking questions from a packed room of reporters.

They are asked about why it took so long to charge the three men if the conduct allegedly started in 2009.

The case depended on “the bravery” of the victims, Breon Peace says.

James Dennehy, assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York Field Office, is now speaking.

He says defendants played on the "hopes and dreams of victims", exploiting, abusing and silencing them to fulfil their own desires.

But, he says, despite the alleged efforts of Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson to conceal crimes - including efforts of using non-disclosure agreements among other things, "their plan failed".

Dennehy says the allegations are yet another example of individuals using their wealth, power and reputation to manipulate and control others for their personal interests.

This investigation remains ongoing, Peace says.

Although there are 15 people identified as victims in the indictment, this "interstate prostitution venture encompassed dozens and dozens of men".

The alleged enterprise lasted until at least from the end of 2008 until early 2015, Peace says.

Jeffries and Smith spent millions of dollars on a massive infrastructure to support this operation and maintain its secrecy, he says, including supporting staff and paying for travel, hotel rooms and services from a security company.

A reminder, you can press the watch live button at the top of the page to follow the FBI and prosecutors' update in New York as it happens.

The update contains some graphic details about the allegations. For support on these issues, you can go to BBC Action Line.

US Attorney Breon Peace alleges that victims were made to believe that by attending sex events, they would benefit from modelling opportunities or other opportunities that would further their careers.

He alleges that Smith and Jeffries employed secret staff to operate the events, and that victims had to sign non-disclosure agreements, and had to hand over their personal items to maintain secrecy.

The victims who attended the events were pressured to consume alcohol and drugs, in the presence of staff, who made sure they did not leave until after the events were over.

They allege victims were also injected with erection-inducing substances.

US Attorney Breon Peace unveils the indictment, saying Jeffries and Smith are accused of employing a middleman James Jacobson to "act as a recruiter to find men" and Jacobson engaged in "try-outs" with men across the world where he would "typically pay them to engage in sex acts".

Following that, Smith would then often personally approve whether the men who were selected would meet Jeffries and Smith, it is alleged.

The accusation is also that the defendants would fly the selected men to Jeffries' and Smith's homes or to hotels around the world for the purpose of attending events to engage in commercial sex, he says.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from New York

US Attorney Breon Peace says the defendants took advantage of “vulnerable human beings” by “dangling dreams of a future in fashion or modelling”.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from New York

At a press conference with federal investigators in New York, we’ve just received the indictment detailing the allegations against the ex-Abercrombie CEO, his partner and an alleged middle man.

They have been charged with 16 counts, including interstate prostitution and sex trafficking.

We are hearing from Breon Peace, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, who is leading a press conference to announce the arrests and charges of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution case.

He will be joined by Carlos Ortiz, the assistant director in charge of FBI's field office in New York and deputy chief.

We'll bring you all the details live.

According to a press release from prosecutors, Mike Jeffries and Matthew Smith paid for “dozens” of men to travel internationally to several locations, including the Hamptons, for the purpose of engaging in sex acts.

The indictment goes on to say that there were at least 15 victims between 2009 to 2015.

Image source, AP

The BBC initially spoke to 12 men who described attending or organising events involving sex acts run for Mike Jeffries, 79, and his British partner Matthew Smith, 60, between 2009 and 2015.

Eight of those men who attended the events said they were recruited by a middleman who the BBC identified as James Jacobson.

Jacobson, 70, previously told the BBC in a statement through his lawyer that he took offence at the suggestion of "any coercive, deceptive or forceful behaviour on my part" and had "no knowledge of any such conduct by others".

The BBC also interviewed dozens of other sources, including former household staff.

Some of the men the BBC spoke to said they were misled about the nature of the events or not told sex was involved. Others said they understood the events would be sexual, but not exactly what was expected of them. All were paid.

Several told the BBC the middleman or other recruiters raised the possibility of modelling opportunities with A&F.

In the year since the investigation was published, eight more men have spoken to the BBC. The FBI also launched an investigation following the BBC’s reporting, and 20 men in total have now told us they attended or helped organise these events.

• Read more on the BBC's investigation

Abercrombie & Fitch has declined to comment on news of these latest arrests.

The company announced it was opening its own independent investigation into the allegations raised against its former CEO, Mike Jeffries, after the BBC's investigation was published.

The BBC recently asked the company when its report would be completed and if the findings would be made public - the company declined to answer.

The brand has said it had no knowledge of "the supposed sex-trafficking venture" led by its former CEO - which it has been accused of having funded.

In its defence submitted to court regarding a civil suit filed against the company, A&F said it "abhors sexual abuse and condemns the alleged conduct" by Jeffries and others.

Civil lawyer Brad Edwards, who is representing some of the alleged victims, said the arrests "are a huge step towards obtaining justice for the many victims who were exploited and abused through this sex-trafficking scheme that operated or many years under the legitimate cover Abercrombie provided.

"The unprecedented reporting of the BBC, coupled with the lawsuit our firm filed detailing the operation, are to credit for these monumental arrests. This was the result of impressive investigative journalism.”