Partner of former Abercrombie CEO pleads not guilty to sex trafficking charges, released on bail

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — Matthew Smith, the partner of the former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was released on $10 million bail Tuesday in his sex trafficking case, with conditions including house arrest and GPS monitoring.

Smith, 61, pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and prostitution charges in federal court on Long Island, New York.

Smith was arrested on October 22 with Jeffries and a third man, James Jacobson, accused of luring men into drug-fueled sex parties by dangling modeling jobs at the fashion-forward retailer.

Prosecutors said in court documents that the men were induced by “force, fraud and coercion” to participate in sex parties between 2008 and 2015 during which they were sometimes asked to wear costumes and undergo painful injections causing an erection.

Jeffries and Jacobson pleaded not guilty and have already been released on bail. But Smith, who has dual U.S.-British citizenship, was initially arrested after prosecutors raised concerns that he might flee the country.

Under the terms of the bail agreement, Smith will surrender his passport and he and Jeffries will be limited to $125,000 in monthly withdrawals from a trust established for their benefit.

Smith’s attorney, Joseph Nascimento, said his client was pleased prosecutors agreed to bail conditions “that will allow Mr. Smith to respond to these allegations in court while on home detention.”

Jeffries took over as CEO of Abercrombie in 1992 and led the company’s transformation into a mainstay of early 2000s teen culture.

Jeffries left Abercrombie in 2014and the Ohio-based company said in a statement posted on Instagram that he was “appalled and disgusted” by the allegations against him.