Georgia gang inmate, reportedly stole $11M from max security jail after impersonating billionaires including Sidney Kimmel and opening fake bank accounts in his name’

A Georgia inmate stole $11million from a billionaire while in jail, a court heard

Gang member Arthur Lee Cofield Jr, 31, impersonated Sidney Kimmel over the phone

At a previous bond hearing, feds said Cofield stole $2.25million from an account belonging to Nicole Wertheim, wife of Florida billionaire Herbert Wertheim

Cofield allegedly then bought nearly $11m in rare coins and a mansion in Atlanta worth $4.4m with the proceeds

Cofield Jr, his co-conspirators Eldridge Bennett, 65, and his daughter, Eliayah Bennett, 27, have all entered not guilty pleas to charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering.

In an unrelated case, the suspect is also facing murder-related charges after putting out a contract ‘hit’ on a love rival from jail

A Georgia gang inmate has been accused of having impersonated a billionaire while locked up in a maximum-security prison and stole $11million. Arthur Lee Cofield Jr, allegedly used the proceeds of the scam to buy a mansion in Atlanta. 
31-year-old Cofield Jr, who is currently serving 14 years for armed robbery in a maximum-security prison in Georgia, is accused of accessing the accounts of entertainment mogul Sidney Kimmel, whose entertainment company is behind films such as ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and ‘Moneyball’, from inside his prison cell, with the help of contraband cell phones.

Cofield Jr is said to have stolen the identity of the movie mogul, who is worth $1.5billion, and then moved an eight-figure-sum out of his account to purchase a $4.4million property, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The scheme is believed to amount to one of the largest heists pulled off from inside an American prison.
At a previous bond hearing, federal prosecutors also said evidence suggested Cofield stole $2.25million from an account belonging to Nicole Wertheim, the wife of Florida billionaire Herbert Wertheim.

At a previous bond hearing, federal prosecutors also said evidence suggested Cofield stole $2.25million from an account belonging to Nicole Wertheim, the wife of Florida billionaire Herbert Wertheim.
Cofield and his co-conspirators Eldridge Bennett, 65, and his daughter, Eliayah Bennett, 27, have all entered not guilty pleas to charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering.
Cofield was able to obtain multiple means of identification for Sidney Kimmel by using a contraband cell phone and subsequently gained access to his Charles Schwab account in June 2020.
He impersonated the billionaire on the phone to a customer service representative in order to open a checking account.
With access to Kimmel’s driving license, a utility bill and the help of a co-conspirator outside of prison, he was able to complete the verification process.

Soon after he purchased 6,106 American Gold Eagle one-ounce coins for $10,998,859.92 from Money Metals Exchange, LLC.
He was able to hire private security team to transport the coins via a private plane to Atlanta on June 13, 2020.
By July, Eldridge Bennett and Eliayah Bennett found a six-bedroom house in Buckhead and offered the owner $4.4million to purchase their property, giving approximately $720,000 in cash as down payment. 
On September 1, 2020, Eldridge Bennet gave the remaining $3.7 million in cash to the landowner, federal authorities alleged, according to the AJC.
Kimmel was reimbursed in full by Charles Schwab as soon as the company became aware of suspected fraud, the newspaper reported.

The feds first uncovered Cofield’s alleged plot in 2020, but more revelations about it came to light after the AJC combed over documents and court records.
Federal authorities believe Cofield stole millions from other victims worth billions in a similar fashion, according to the newspaper.
“Mr. Cofield has figured out a way to access accounts belonging to high net worth individuals, frankly billionaires, located across the country,” federal prosecutor Scott McAfee reportedly said in court in December 2020.
The suspect is also facing pending attempted murder charges connected to accusations he ordered gang members to shoot and kill a romantic rival of his in Atlanta while he was sitting in the Georgia prison system, the AJC reported. That attempt which left the victim paralyzed from the waist down.
Cofield Jr reportedly had been transferred to the Special Management Unit after the murder plot was uncovered. He was released from GDC custody in October 2021 after completing his sentence for armed robbery and was placed in federal custody, where he remains.