Federal Authorities Search for Escaped Georgia Prisoner Who Previously Committed $11M Fraud From Jail

Federal authorities are currently on a hunt for a Georgia inmate who escaped from a federal prison camp this week. He was accused of stealing millions from a Hollywood producer while behind bars.

Arthur Lee Cofield Jr., 34, went missing on the afternoon of May 26 from a minimum-security federal prison camp in Jesup, Georgia, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Officials described the escape as a “walkaway.”

The FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and Bureau of Prisons are jointly leading the search for Cofield, who gained national attention for orchestrating fraud schemes from inside prison walls.

Prosecutors said Cofield stole nearly $11 million from film producer Sidney Kimmel by posing as him during phone calls to access Kimmel’s Charles Schwab account. Authorities said the theft was one of several scams he pulled while being sentenced in Georgia.

Cofield was caught after investigators and prison officials seized a contraband cellphone from him in 2020 at the Georgia Department of Corrections’ Special Management Unit in Jackson, one of the state’s highest-security facilities.

Cofield was first incarcerated in 2008 after pleading guilty to armed robbery tied to the theft of $2,600 from a Douglasville bank when he was 16 years old.

Authorities later accused him of continuing to run criminal operations while incarcerated. Prosecutors said he led a prison group known as YAP, short for Young and Paid, which organized parties and maintained outside connections in Atlanta.

Cofield entered federal custody in 2021 after completing his state sentence.

He was also accused of ordering a drive-by shooting in southwest Atlanta from prison. Prosecutors said the attack stemmed from a dispute involving a woman Cofield had developed a relationship with over the phone.

In 2024, Cofield pleaded guilty to several charges tied to the shooting, including criminal attempt to commit murder. The victim was left paralyzed from the waist down.

Court records show Cofield is expected to serve another 18 years in state prison after completing his federal sentence, followed by 12 years on probation.

Two men and the woman involved in the case also received lengthy prison terms after pleading guilty.

Cofield was represented in federal court by Atlanta attorney Steve Sadow, who also represented President Donald Trump in Fulton County’s election interference case.

Authorities have asked people with information about Cofield’s whereabouts to contact the U.S. Marshals Service.