Ex-Abercrombie boss now facing abuse claims from 40 men

More than 40 men have now come forward accusing the former chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) of rape, sexual assault or drugging, lawyers have told the BBC.

Mike Jeffries, who was charged with sex trafficking in October, is facing multiple civil lawsuits alleging he assaulted men under the guise of modelling opportunities with the fashion brand.

The latest claims stretch back to the 1990s, when Mr Jeffries first started working at A&F and the alleged victims now include company employees as well as former models, the lawyers said.

Mr Jeffries has denied all the allegations previously made against him.

A&F is also being sued for negligence with the lawsuits claiming that it knowingly facilitated the "heinous sexual crimes" of Mr Jeffries and his British life partner, Matthew Smith.

The company - which also owns the Hollister brand - did not respond to requests for comment but has previously said it was "appalled and disgusted" by Mr Jeffries alleged behaviour.

In the latest allegations, some men say they were already A&F employees when they were sexual assaulted, raising questions about what steps the company took to protect staff and hold Mr Jeffries accountable while he was chief executive and chairman between 1992 and 2014.

Now 80, Mr Jeffries is under house arrest after pleading not guilty to charges of running an international sex trafficking and prostitution business along with his partner Mr Smith, 61, and their middleman, James Jacobson, 72.

Their arrests followed a BBC podcast and documentary in 2023 that revealed they were behind a highly organised operation scouting young men for sex across the US, Europe and North Africa. They face a maximum of life in prison if convicted.

Brad Edwards, a civil trial lawyer, has told the BBC he is now representing 26 alleged victims in a lawsuit seeking class action status - where one or more people sue on behalf of a wider group.

"There is strength in numbers, so more men came forward after the arrests," Mr Edwards said, adding that many were co-operating with the authorities, and claiming it is likely more than 100 men could be victims overall.

Attorney Jared Scotto has told the BBC he is also representing more than a dozen men planning to take legal action, including some who say they were A&F employees. He said the claims date back to the autumn of 1992, the year that Mike Jeffries joined the company.

"A lot of men are coming forward to ask questions and better understand what happened to them," said Mr Scotto. "Now they know its not just them affected; it was part of a larger nefarious scheme."

Separate to the group civil action, two lawsuits have recently been filed in New York by men alleging they were raped by Mr Jeffries after being falsely promised modelling opportunities.

The first of these lawsuits alleges two men, Brandon Steele and Joseph Sterling, were assaulted on multiple occasions after being pressured to take illegal narcotics and forced to endure penis injections. These happened at "Abercrombie-themed" events where they were given A&F clothing to wear, the lawsuit says.

Both men, who were in their late teens and 20s at the time, say they were initially approached by an A&F employee or representative about possible modelling work in 2010 and 2011, according to the court papers and their attorney.

They each then met James Jacobson, who also sexually abused them, they add.

"Coercive sex is not consensual sex," said their attorney Robert Georges, who told the BBC that Mr Sterling had been taken to France, Italy, St Barts and onboard an ocean liner sailing from Hong Kong to Australia.

"The power imbalance was extreme, and Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith used it shamelessly while Abercrombie & Fitch ignored the obvious for the sake of corporate profits."

In the second lawsuit, two former models say they were assaulted by Mr Jeffries during a casting call at the Setai Hotel in Miami in 2011, while auditioning to be pictured on A&Fs bags.

One of the models alleges that Mr Jeffries sexually assaulted him after taking his pictures, telling him that "Abercrombie models get special treatment".

The other, who was represented by Wilhelmina Models, a top modelling agency, claims Mr Jeffries assaulted him after he and his partner Matthew Smith "relentlessly" questioned him about his sexuality and expressed an interest in straight men.

Three weeks later, the men say they were contacted by James Jacobson with an offer to fly to New York to visit Mr Jeffries home in the Hamptons to finalise the A&F casting.

According to their lawsuit, the men allege Mr Jeffries subsequently raped them.

One says this occurred after Mr Jeffries asked if he would have sex with a man in exchange for pay, gifts, or other favours.

"No, Im straight and have a girlfriend," he said, according to his lawsuit. He says he was then dismissed but Mr Jeffries later accosted him in a bathroom.

In his lawsuit, he says he then grappled with Mr Jeffries and yelled at him to stop. He says when he finally did, Mr Jeffries asked: "Do you want this campaign or not?"

The man says he rejected the offer of an A&F campaign deal and $6,000 (£4,600) to have sex with him and Mr Smith. He then tried to run out of the room, but Mr Jeffries grabbed him by the waist and raped him, the lawsuit claims.

A handler for Mr Jeffries then refused to arrange for him to return to New York without signing a non-disclosure agreement until he threatened to call the police, it adds.

Eric M Baum and Adriana Alcalde, attorneys for the two men, said it was often difficult for male survivors of sexual abuse, such as their clients, to come forward.

"Survivors may struggle for years to process what happened to them. Seeing others share their stories can reduce feelings of shame and embarrassment, serving as a catalyst for seeking justice," they said.

US prosecutors have said that there are currently 15 victims in the criminal case against Mr Jeffries, but the BBC understands that they are continuing to interview potential witnesses, so this number may grow.

Earlier this month, a court ordered that A&F must pay Mr Jeffries legal fees - a bill likely to run into millions - in the criminal case as well as in all the civil lawsuits.

Mr Jeffries, Mr Smith and Mr Jacobson did not respond to the BBCs latest requests for comment.

Mr Jacobson - the middleman - has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and has previously said 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".

Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith have also pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and, in response to the civil case, have previously said they "vehemently deny" the allegations.

A&F also did not respond to requests from comment, though it has previously said that it had no knowledge of alleged sexual misconduct or sex trafficking and "up until the moment that the BBCs reporting was released in October 2023, there was nothing public about the allegations against Jeffries".

It said that new leadership had since transformed the company, and it has "zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or discrimination of any kind".

Following the BBCs reporting, the retailer opened an independent investigation and suspended $1m annual retirement payments to Mr Jeffries, which he was receiving on top of his pension.