What did Arthur Lee Cofield Jr do? Georgia inmate accused of impersonating billionaire in stealing attempt

In a heist seemingly straight out of a Hollywood film, Arthur Lee Cofield Jr., a Georgia inmate, managed to steal around $11 million from a Los Angeles billionaire by assuming his identity. He then used the money to buy a mansion in Atlanta.

First uncovered by federal authorities in 2020, 31-year-old Arthur Lee was accused of impersonating 94-year-old Sidney Kimmel, a billionaire chairman and CEO of a Los Angeles entertainment company.

Using contraband cell phones while behind bars, Arthur allegedly tricked customer service reps at Charles Schwab into transferring millions of dollars to an account in Idaho. The stolen money was then used to buy more than 6,000 American Eagle one-ounce gold coins.

Evidence pointed at Arthur Lee Cofield Jr.'s elaborate scheme to extract money from Kimmel's Charles Schwab banking account also gives rise to the possibility of the Georgia inmate scamming other wealthy personalities for millions of dollars.

---

Who is Arthur Lee Cofield Jr.? Successful fraud scheme raises questions about prison monitoring systems

Arthur, a documented gang member and an inmate of the Georgia Department of Corrections’ Special Management Unit - a high-security prison - has attracted a lot of attention for pulling off one of the biggest heists in American history while operating from inside a prison.

According to court documents, he had transferred millions of dollars from the bank account of the CEO of the LA-based company, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment. With that money, he allegedly purchased 6,106 American Eagle one-ounce gold coins in Idaho. The gold coins were then flown to Atlanta in a private aircraft and used to buy a $4.4 million house in Buckhead.

Jose Morales, a warden at the Special Management Unit, described Cofield as:

"... a shrewd, intelligent individual who could con you out of millions."

The fraud has raised many questions regarding the prison's monitoring system and especially the Department of Corrections’ failure to curb illegal activities conducted by their inmates, some of whom are among the most hardened criminals in Georgia.

According to reports obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Arthur Lee Cofield Jr. faced no problem with possessing multiple phones while in prison. He was caught with a cellphone twelve times at five different Georgia prisons. Anthony Schembri, an experienced correctional officer, said:

"They know what he’s doing with cell phones and he’s still getting them in? What does that tell you?"

Known by his gang members as 'Yap Lavish', Cofield also faces an attempted murder charge for his involvement in a previous shooting which left a young man paralyzed.

---

Kimmel is not the only billionaire that Arthur Lee Cofield Jr. stole from

During a bond hearing in December 2020, Scott McAfee, a federal prosecutor, stated:

"Mr. Cofield has figured out a way to access accounts belonging to high net worth individuals, frankly billionaires, located across the country."

He further alleged that the government was in possession of evidence which showed that Cofield had access to an account belonging to Nicole Wertheim, the wife of Florida billionaire Herbert Wertheim. Cofield allegedly looted around $2.25 million from Wertheim's account, converting the cash to gold coins once again.

Arthur Lee Cofield Jr. pleaded not guilty to charges against him, which include conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering. He remains in federal custody and is being represented by Attorney Steven Sadow on both this case and a previous attempted murder charge.