Georgia Inmate Pleads Guilty to Scamming Hollywood Producer out of $11 Million

Arthur Cofield (Courtesy of the Georgia Department of Corrections)

A Georgia inmate pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday to scamming a Hollywood movie producer out of $11 million with a contraband cellphone he had smuggled into his cell.

In 2020, Arthur Cofield—who is serving time at a Georgia Correctional Facility—was indicted for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.

“This elaborate fraud scheme is truly shocking in its scope and nature,” said Tommy Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division

Incarcerated in 2008, Cofield was serving a 14-year sentence for armed robbery and is under indictment in Fulton County, Georgia, for a charge of attempted murder.

From his cell, he used a phone to obtain several forms of identification for a person the DOJ identified as “S.K.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported “S.K.” to be Sidney Kimmel, chairman and CEO of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based company responsible for movies such as “Moneyball” and “Hell or High Water.”

The heist is being called the biggest one ever pulled off from inside a U.S. prison.

Cofield is housed in Georgia’s Special Management Unit, a maximum-security facility that houses some of the state’s most dangerous criminals.

Cofield’s Scam

After gaining access to Kimmel’s online account managed by Charles Schwab, Cofield called a Charles Schwab customer service representative and impersonated Kimmel to set up a checking account.

Cofield used a coconspirator to text Cofield a photo of Kimmel’s driver’s license and a Los Angeles, California, Department of Water and Power utility bill to complete the verification process.

Continuing to impersonate Kimmel, Cofield emailed a purchase inquiry to an Idaho precious metals dealer for gold coins. This led to Cofield’s buying 6,106 American Gold Eagle one-ounce coins for almost $11 million.

A coconspirator contacted Charles Schwab customer service, claiming to be the wife of Kimmel, and inquired about the verification process for a wire transfer.

Still impersonating Kimmel., Cofield was later able to get a wire transfer of $11 million from Kimmel’s account to the precious metal dealer’s account.

Then, Cofield hired a private security company to transport the gold coins from Idaho to Atlanta, Georgia, by a chartered, private plane.

One of Cofield’s two coconspirators presented false identification and took the gold coins.

Finally, Cofield contacted the landowner of a six-bedroom residence in Atlanta and offered $4.4 million for the property.

He gave a down payment of $720,000 through one of his coconspirators before paying the remaining $3.7 million to the landowner.

Cofield’s cell was searched by correctional officers and the phone was discovered. A forensic investigation showed that he used the app “TextNow,” which allowed him to use a phone number not assigned to his phone to text and call other users.

According to a spokesperson for the DOJ, Cofield’s sentencing date has not been set.

“Some prisoners aren’t interested in rehabilitation or paying their debt to society,” said U.S. Attorney Byung Pak. “The allure of millions of dollars in gold, coupled with contraband prison cellphones, allegedly was enough for Cofield to commit a brazen million-dollar fraud scheme from the confines of his prison cell.”