Arthur Lee Cofield Jr., 34, of Atlanta, escaped federal custody on May 26, 2026, walking away from the satellite prison camp at the Federal Correctional Institution in Jesup, Georgia. The minimum-security camp has no perimeter fencing; Cofield left on foot through a wooded area to a nearby road sometime during the facility's daytime inmate count, conducted between 5 a.m. and 4 p.m. His absence was discovered that day and a federal Escape from Custody charge was filed May 27, 2026. At the time of the escape, Cofield was serving a 135-month (11-plus-year) federal sentence, imposed January 5, 2024, for Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft. That case centered on a scheme he ran from inside a Georgia state prison's Special Management Unit, in which he impersonated film producer Sidney Kimmel by phone to Charles Schwab, using Kimmel's driver's license photo and a utility bill to authenticate the call, and directed the transfer of $11 million from Kimmel's brokerage account. Two accomplices operating outside the prison assisted and have since pleaded guilty. Cofield was also ordered to pay $12.5 million in restitution.
The FBI Atlanta Field Office is leading the search for Cofield, assisted by the U.S. Marshals Service. He is described as having ties to the Atlanta metropolitan area and is considered "armed and dangerous" by the FBI, which is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to his arrest. Cofield has also been reported, in press accounts, to have led a street gang known as "Young and Paid" (YAP) under the nickname "YAP Lavish," and to have separately faced a Fulton County charge of attempted murder tied to a 2020 allegation that he ordered a shooting from prison; the current status of that charge has not been confirmed from sources reviewed. He remains at large as of this writing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov, or contact the nearest U.S. Marshals Service office.
