Federal inmate convicted in $11 million fraud scheme on the run after escaping Georgia prison

A Georgia man convicted of leading an $11 million fraud scheme while in custody through contraband phones is now on the run after officials say he escaped from a federal prison camp.

The United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other law enforcement agencies are searching for 34-year-old Arthur Cofield.

According to authorities with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Cofield was discovered missing from the minimum-security camp next to the Federal Corrections Institution in Jessup on Tuesday afternoon.

At the time of his escape, Cofield was serving a sentence of over 11 years for identity theft and conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud.

Cofield is described as approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing approximately 210 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. Investigators have not shared a description of what he may be wearing.

If you have any information about where Cofield could be, call the United States Marshals Service at (912) 429- 7169.

A sophisticated fraud scheme from prison

Federal prosecutors announced new charges against Cofield in a December 2020 press release. At the time, the Atlanta man was serving a prison sentence for armed robbery in Butts County and faced an attempted murder charge in Fulton County.

Authorities say Cofield used a contraband cellphone to steal the identity and get into an online account of a Charles Schwab client, who was identified only as "S.K." He then allegedly impersonated S.K. to contact Charles Schwab to open a checking account in their name, getting a co-conspirator to send him a picture of S.K.'s driver's license and a Los Angeles utility bill as verification.

Now with access to the accounts, prosecutors say Cofield and a female co-conspirator reached out to an Idaho precious metal dealer, eventually leading Charles Schwab to wire $11 million from S.K.'s funds to the dealer to buy 6,106 American Gold Eagle coins. He then allegedly hired a private security company to transport the coins from Idaho to Atlanta, where investigators say a co-conspirator used them to arrange the purchase of a massive home near West Paces Ferry.

He was sentenced in 2024 and ordered to pay restitution to the victim.