Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was arrested Tuesday morning on sex trafficking charges, in which he allegedly paid dozens of men to fly them to lavish “sex events” around the world, from New York to Morocco and St. Barts.

The 80-year-old fashion mogul was arrested along with his partner, Matt Smith, and another man, Jim Jacobson, a source told the Daily Beast. Smith’s arrest comes a year after he was accused of sexually abusing male models in a lawsuit.

The indictment, filed in the Eastern District of New York and obtained by the Daily Beast, alleges that Jeffries and Smith had sex with aspiring male models from December 2008 to March 2015 after Jacobson traveled “across the United States and internationally” to recruit them.

Prosecutors allege that as part of that recruitment process, Jacobson pressured men to perform sexual acts with him—what prosecutors described as “challenges”—before they were allowed to attend sexual events with Smith and Jeffries.

The group is also accused of running a “referral system,” rewarding models who recruited others to meet with Jacobson—often lying about the true nature of the meetings for financial gain.

Prosecutors allege that some victims were led to believe they would receive modeling opportunities at Abercrombie if they complied with the trio’s sexual demands. Jeffries, in turn, allegedly threatened to end the men’s modeling careers if they did not comply.

To convince models to engage in sexual activities, including those who said they were heterosexual, the trio allegedly talked about “nonexistent modeling opportunities.” This came after they allegedly provided aspiring models with “itineraries for non-commercial sexual events.”

Once at the parties, prosecutors said security was hired to control who came in and out. Inside, the men were allegedly ordered to “wear costumes,” “use sex toys to prepare for specific sexual acts,” and alter their appearance to that of Smith and Jeffries. In some cases, the victims were allegedly injected with “a prescription erectile substance intended to induce the men to engage in sexual acts that they were physically incapable of or unwilling to engage in.”

The parties would continue until “Jeffries and Smith decided to end,” the indictment said, with others not allowed to leave whenever they wanted. Phones were reportedly not allowed inside the sex event, and attendees were required to sign strict nondisclosure agreements afterward, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors said the victims were forced to drink alcohol, Viagra, and muscle relaxants known as “poppers.” The sex parties allegedly took place in New York City, but also took place in various locations in England, France, Italy, Morocco, and Saint Barthelemy.

Federal prosecutors will hold a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

The investigation was admitted by prosecutors in January after some of the victims filed lawsuits in 2023.

“Today’s arrests are significant for the aspiring male models who were victimized by these individuals,” Brittany Henderson, an attorney representing some of the victims in the civil lawsuit, told The Daily Beast in a statement.

“Their fight for justice does not end here. We look forward to holding Abercrombie and Fitch accountable for enabling this horrific behavior and ensuring it cannot happen again.”

Abercrombie declined to comment on the arrests.

Jeffries is scheduled to appear in Florida federal court on Tuesday afternoon, CNN reported. He will be arraigned in Brooklyn at a later date.

The BBC published an investigation in 2023, claiming that the men were sexually “auditioned” by a middleman before they were introduced to Jeffries or Smith. The middleman, described in the report as having “a missing nose covered by a snakeskin patch,” was identified by the broadcaster as Jim Jacobson.

In the lawsuit, the male models allege Jeffries used the promise of work at Abercrombie to lure them to locations around the world, then coerced them into having sex with him or others.

The BBC confirmed that some of the alleged abuse took place at events held at luxury hotels in Paris, Venice and London, as well as at Jeffries’ New York mansion.

In response to the lawsuit, Jeffries’ lawyers previously said their client “vehemently denies all allegations made against him” in the complaint.

Jeffries left Abercrombie in 2014 after 22 years at the helm of the company, a period that marked great success for the brand