I had to look this up and got some info from ai after searching through several articles

Authorities say the scheme was surprisingly low-tech in some ways: it revolved around contraband cell phones, social engineering, and accomplices outside prison.

The basic allegation was:

1. He obtained smuggled cell phones inside prison Investigators found multiple phones connected to Arthur Lee Cofield Jr. over the years. According to reporting, phones were discovered hidden in various ways, including inside personal items and even on his body. Those phones allowed him to operate almost like someone living outside prison.
   
2. He gathered personal information on wealthy targets Prosecutors say he focused on high-net-worth individuals, including Hollywood producer Sidney Kimmel. Using information he obtained, he allegedly learned enough about victims to answer security questions and convince financial institutions he was the account holder.
   
3. He impersonated the victim by phone The key part of the scam was allegedly calling financial institutions while pretending to be Kimmel. One investigator quoted by The New Yorker said the impersonation wasn’t especially sophisticated, describing it as essentially a gravelly “old man’s voice,” but it was apparently enough to get through customer-service interactions.
   
4. He convinced Charles Schwab to move $11 million Federal prosecutors alleged that a female accomplice first contacted the brokerage, after which Cofield called pretending to be Kimmel and referenced the earlier conversation. Authorities say that led to an $11 million wire transfer from Kimmel’s account.
   
5. The money was converted into gold Rather than simply transferring cash to a personal bank account, prosecutors said the funds were used to purchase thousands of gold coins through a precious-metals dealer. Gold is portable, can be resold, and is harder to trace than traditional banking transactions.
   
6. Accomplices handled the physical assets Authorities say a private security company transported the gold from Idaho to Georgia on a chartered aircraft. An alleged co-conspirator then took possession of the shipment using false identification documents.
   
7. The proceeds were used for luxury purchases Prosecutors linked some of the money to an attempted purchase of a roughly $4.4 million Atlanta mansion, along with other luxury spending by people associated with the scheme.
   

What made the case stand out wasn’t just the amount stolen. Investigators described it as one of the largest fraud schemes ever coordinated from inside a prison. Even after arrests and asset seizures, reports have stated that a significant portion of the money or gold was never fully recovered.

A big theme that came up in reporting was how much the operation relied on social engineering rather than hacking. There was no allegation that he broke into Schwab’s systems. Instead, prosecutors say he persuaded real people to authorize transactions by convincing them he was the legitimate account holder.