Businessman Mike Jeffries Has Been Arrested, but Who Is His Romantic Partner?

News recently broke that Mike Jeffries, the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, has been arrested on sex trafficking and interstate prosecution charges. Following the news of his arrest, many wanted to learn more about the businessman, who led the company for over a decade.

Among the things some wanted to know was who Jeffries's partner is. Jeffries, who is estranged from his wife, is a gay man, and his current partner was one of the other people charged in this case. Here's what we know.

Mike Jeffries's long-time partner is Matthew Smith, who was also charged in the case. In addition to being Jeffries's live-in romantic partner, Smith also headed Jeffries Family Office, a limited liability company based out of Ohio that apparently acted on behalf of Jeffries's best interest. Smith was also involved in business affairs at Abercrombie & Fitch and reviewed internal documents related to the company in spite of having no official role there.

Reporting from GQ suggests that Smith's informal role at the company, which is not usually ideal corporate governance, was part of the reason that Jeffries left in 2014.

Even before these recent allegations, Jeffries had been accused of discriminatory practices during his time at Abercrombie & Fitch, and gave a famous interview to Salon in 2006 in which he suggested that he didn't want fat people to wear the brand.

According to the allegations in a federal indictment, Jeffries and Smith, along with a third man named James Jacobson who is described as a "recruiter," are accused of orchestrating an "international sex trafficking and prostitution business” from 2008 to 2015. They have each been charged with one count of sex trafficking along with 15 counts of international prostitution tied to 15 different victims.

The indictment further alleges that they organized "sex events" in England, France, Morocco, Italy, New York City, and The Hamptons. It also alleges that they "employed coercive, fraudulent and deceptive tactics in connection with the recruitment, hiring, transportation, obtaining, maintaining, solicitation and payment of the men to engage in commercial sex."

The men were lured into these events under the belief that it could lead to modeling opportunities or help their career in other ways. They were also told “that not complying with requests for certain acts during the Sex Events could harm their careers," according to the indictment. The youngest of the alleged victims was just 19 years old, according to a memo the prosecution submitted.

“Many of the victims, at least one of whom was as young as 19 years old, were financially vulnerable and aspired to become models in the fashion industry, a notoriously cutthroat world,” the memo says. “Indeed, some of the men they recruited had previously worked at Abercrombie stores or modeled for Abercrombie.”

The indictment further suggests that the men were made to surrender their wallets and sign a non-disclosure agreements.