February 13th 2024.
Arthur Lee Cofield Jr. was a 31-year-old man who was recently convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering. This all took place while he was serving time in a maximum-security facility in Georgia. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones on Friday, Feb. 9. His crime involved stealing a staggering $11 million from the Charles Schwab account of Sidney Kimmel, a 94-year-old billionaire movie producer. As part of his sentence, Cofield must also pay back over $12.5 million in restitution to replace the stolen funds. In addition to Kimmel's account, Cofield also stole $1.2 million from an Alabama resident and $391,000 from a bank, for which he is also responsible for repaying.
During his sentencing, Judge Jones expressed his disappointment in Cofield's actions, stating, "If you had used your intelligence for legal and positive endeavors, you could have been very successful in life." Cofield and his two accomplices, Eldridge Bennett and his 27-year-old daughter, Eliayah Bennett, all pleaded guilty to their crimes in April 2023.
Initially, it was reported that Cofield had impersonated Sidney Kimmel in order to fraudulently obtain the $11 million from his bank account. He then used the funds to purchase gold coins, which he then used to buy a mansion in Buckhead, Atlanta. These coins were transported from Idaho to Atlanta on a private plane, and Cofield also used a portion of the money to buy a $4.4 million mansion. This elaborate scheme was described as "potentially one of the biggest heists ever pulled off from inside an American prison," as Cofield was able to carry it out while being held at the Georgia Department of Corrections' Special Management Unit, a maximum-security facility meant for the most dangerous criminals in the state.
It was also revealed that Cofield had been in prison since 2008, when he was only 16 years old. He had been arrested for armed robbery after stealing $2,600 from a bank in Douglasville, Georgia. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to the crime.
This latest incident of Cofield's elaborate theft scheme has brought attention to the issue of security in prisons, as it is alarming that such a large sum of money could be stolen while he was supposed to be behind bars. The full extent of Cofield's actions and the consequences he will face serves as a reminder of the consequences that come with making poor choices, especially for someone who had the potential to use their intelligence for good.
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