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The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch along with two others have been arrested in Florida on sex trafficking charges.

Mike Jeffries was arrested in West Palm Beach on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges and his associates Matthew Smith of West Palm Beach and James Jacobson of Wisconsin, were also arrested.

(Video Credit: CBS News)

According to the indictment, the three are accused of operating an “international sex trafficking and prostitution business” from 2008 to 2015, recruiting young men for parties in the U.S. and abroad.

“We will respond in detail to the allegations after the Indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse – not the media,” an attorney for Jeffries, Brian Bieber, told ABC News on Tuesday.  The 80-year-old Jeffries was CEO of the clothing brand from 1992 to 2014.

According to ABC News:

The former retail executive and Smith relied on their vast financial resources, Jeffries’ power as the CEO of Abercrombie, and numerous people, including Jacobson and a network of employees, contractors and security professionals, to run a business “that was dedicated to fulfilling their sexual desires and ensuring that their international sex trafficking and prostitution business was kept secret,” the indictment alleges.

Federal prosecutors said the trio paid dozens of men to travel around the world to engage in sex acts. The indictment mentions 15 alleged victims, identified as John Does #1-15. Jeffries allegedly recruited, hired and paid a slate of household staff to “facilitate and supervise the Sex Events.”

The indictment alleges the trio organized “sex events” in various locations in the U.S. and internationally for Jeffries, Smith, and “others.” They are accused of having “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 being recruited were reportedly made to sign non-disclosure agreements as well as turn over their wallets and cell phones during the events.

“Powerful individuals, for too long, have trafficked and abused for their own sexual pleasure young people with few resources in a dream, a dream of securing a successful career in fashion or entertainment,” Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a news conference Tuesday.

He further warned that anyone using the “so-called casting couch system” should “prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison.”

News of the arrests comes just over a year after a bombshell report by BBC News that revealed allegations that Jeffries exploited men at parties, with a dozen men speaking out about their experiences during the 2009 to 2015 time period the events had reportedly taken place. Abercrombie & Fitch and Jeffries were sued for reportedly “turning a blind eye” to the CEO’s’ alleged behavior, CNBC reported last year.

Attorney Brittany Henderson is representing victims from that class action lawsuit and reacted to the arrests in a statement on Tuesday.

“Today’s arrests are monumental for the aspiring male models who were victimized by these individuals,” she said.

“Their fight for justice does not end here,” the statement said. “We look forward to holding Abercrombie and Fitch liable for facilitating this terrible conduct and ensuring that this cannot happen again.”

David Bradberry, the lead plaintiff in that case, also released a statement.

“I’m grateful to my lawyers for believing in me and for the steadfast resolve of law enforcement,” said Bradberry, who had spoken to the BBC about how, at 23 years old and as an aspiring model he “didn’t feel safe to say ‘no’ or ‘I don’t feel comfortable with this’” while at one of the alleged events hosted by Jeffries.

“I look forward to cooperating in the process to ensure those who harmed me and others are held accountable for what they did,” he said in a statement Tuesday.

Frieda Powers
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