FBI Probing Ex-Abercrombie Boss Over Sex Trafficking Claims: Report
The FBI has opened an investigation after the disgraced former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch was accused of rampant sexual abuse and exploitation, according to the BBC. Citing several sources, the network reported on Tuesday that federal agents were in the midst of interviewing and subpoenaing potential witnesses. The investigation is reportedly being led by agents specializing in sex crimes, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Both the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment, as did a lawyer for the onetime executive at the center of the allegations, Mike Jeffries. Last October, the BBC published a sprawling investigation that accused Jeffries and a partner, Matthew Smith, of running a sex-trafficking ring between 2009 and 2015. A dozen men told the outlet that they’d been recruited for modeling opportunities only to be exploited and abused, pressured into performing sex acts on Jeffries and one another. Jeffries, who retired in 2014, has repeatedly declined through his lawyer to comment on the accusations.
