A former Abercrombie & Fitch model sued the fashion retailer on Friday, accusing the company of allowing former CEO Mike Jeffries to run a sex trafficking organization during his 22-year tenure.
Jeffries, Left Abercrombie in 2014, Transformed the chain from a struggling hunting clothing retailer into a seller of must-have apparel for teens.But he has been criticized for the company’s sexual marketing, which included billboards and hunky models alienates potential customers Who doesn’t fit its image.
After the lawsuit A report from the British Broadcasting Corporation Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith made similar accusations earlier this month.
the lawsuit, David Bradberry filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that Jeffries had model scouts scour the Internet and elsewhere looking for attractive young people seeking to become the next face of Abercrombie. . The suit alleges that the would-be models were often victims of sex trafficking, shipped to New York and abroad, and abused by Jeffries and other men, all under the guise that they were being recruited to become the next Abercrombie models.
“Jeffreys was so important to the brand’s profitability that he was given complete autonomy to perform his duties as CEO as he saw fit, including blatant international sex trafficking and abuse of potential employees,” the lawsuit states. Abercrombie model.”
The lawsuit names Jeffries, Smith and Jeffries Family Office LLC. The group is seeking a class-action lawsuit and estimates that more than a hundred young models have been victimized in addition to Bradbury.
New Albany, Ohio-based A&F declined to comment Friday. Earlier this month, the retailer said it had hired an external law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the issues raised by the BBC. The company said its current leadership and board of directors were not aware of Jeffries’ sexual misconduct allegations.
“For nearly a decade, a new executive leadership team and a new board of directors have successfully transformed our brand and culture into the values-driven organization it is today,” the company said. “We have zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or discrimination of any kind. manner.”
Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Bieber, said in a statement that Jeffries “will not comment in the media regarding this new lawsuit, as he has similarly chosen not to discuss litigation in the past.”
“The courts are where we deal with this,” Bieber added.
The Jeffries family office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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