Georgia convict pleads guilty to scamming Hollywood billionaire out of $11 million
Barnini Chakraborty
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A Georgia felon who scammed $11 million from a big-budget movie producer pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday, telling the judge he gained access to the media mogul’s bank account by using a smuggled cellphone from inside a maximum security prison.
Arthur Lee Cofield Jr. told U.S. District Judge Steve Jones how he used the phone to get into the producer’s Charles Schwab account, impersonated the 95-year-old, and arranged a wire transfer to buy 1-ounce gold coins that were then flown to Atlanta on a private plane.
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Though the producer’s name was not disclosed during Tuesday’s hearing, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously identified the victim as Sidney Kimmel, chairman and CEO of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based company responsible for movies such as Crazy Rich Asians, Moneyball, and Hell or High Water.
The heist is one of the biggest ever pulled off from inside an American prison, made worse since it took place in the Georgia Department of Corrections’ Special Management Unit, a maximum security unit designed to house some of the state’s most dangerous criminals.
Cofield pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. He will be sentenced in July.
His case drew national attention not only because of its brazen nature but also because it exposed serious flaws in the prison system and highlighted how a person locked up could continue to break the law.
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Cofield was serving a 14-year prison sentence for robbing a bank when he came up with the scheme. He was moved to the heightened security area after Fulton County prosecutors claimed he ordered the shooting of Antoris Young, a 36-year-old who was paralyzed from the waist down.
Authorities said Cofield was the leader of a group called Yap (Young and paid) and had managed to accumulate large amounts of money as part of crimes he ordered inside the Georgia Department of Corrections facility.