Georgia’s lockups have played host to a long list of fraudsters and criminal kingpins.
Arthur Lee Cofield Jr. is one of the best known: While he was in Georgia’s supermax prison, he used a contraband cellphone to steal $11 million from the Charles Schwab account of a billionaire movie producer and used part of the haul to buy a $4.4 million home in Buckhead. Nathan Weekes is facing charges of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar contraband scheme from within Georgia’s Smith State Prison, and the warden running the place was arrested for being part of the enterprise. Over the last decade, prosecutors have filed 28 major cases involving drug trafficking operations run from inside more than two dozen Georgia prisons.
Now, federal prosecutors have brought charges against a new alleged scammer accused of operating an elaborate, multi-million dollar scheme while locked up in Georgia’s Telfair State Prison in McRae-Helena and the Glynn County Detention Center in Brunswick. Asaad Amir Hasuan, aka Dante Fredrick, allegedly targeted the family members and friends of his fellow inmates. He is accused of fleecing one Delaware resident of $3.5 million through the scheme, which he operated from late 2021 to May of 2024.
Here’s a look at the latest kingpin to allegedly make millions while behind bars in Georgia:
Who is Asaad Amir Hasuan aka Dante Fredrick? The 43-year-old man from Brunswick has an extensive criminal history with at least six stints in Georgia’s prison system beginning in 2006, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. His convictions include crimes related to drugs, guns, thefts, fleeing police and false imprisonment, according to the GDC. Hasuan has pleaded not guilty in the current case, according to the court records.
How did the alleged scheme work? Federal charges say Hasuan operated as a con man who gained the trust of his victims and took advantage of their desire to help their loved ones, who were incarcerated with Hasuan. He falsely promised legal help, physical protection for the incarcerated loved ones and their family members and even investment opportunities. Using these promises, and eventually threats, he allegedly induced the victims to transfer money and property to him.
Who were victims and why did they send money? The indictment says one victim was a New Jersey resident and the sister of an inmate who, over several months in 2021, transferred about $160,000 to accounts controlled by the enterprise based on Hasuan’s claims that he could assist with the inmate’s criminal case and get him out of prison early. He also claimed he was a savvy stock market investor who could invest her money to help cover the legal costs.
Another victim was a Delaware resident in a relationship with an inmate. Hasuan convinced the victim that if she would pay him $40,000 he could pay a witness against her boyfriend to recant incriminating statements. He also convinced the victim that both the inmate and the victim and her family were in danger. If they paid him, he said would protect them from harm, according to the indictment. He also convicted the victim he was a savvy real estate investor and stockbroker and by investing with him, she could recoup her money. After sending thousands of dollars, the victim refused to send more, at which time Hasuan allegedly threatened the victim, sending texts saying: “Answer the (expletive) phone or u will regret it” and “This blood is on your hands” and “I hope you have money for funeral arrangements.” Between November of 2021 and November of 2022, the victim transferred money and property worth $3.5 million to the criminal enterprise, the indictment says.
Was anyone else involved? Hasuan worked with a team of contacts on the outside who acted as “money mules” to launder the money, the indictment says. Eight people, all residents of Brunswick, face charges related to alleged money laundering activities that the indictment says were part of the criminal enterprise headed by Hasuan. The scheme laundered money by setting up a business named “One Way Auto,” a car rental company that served as a front for the criminal enterprise. The enterprise also purchased real estate and mobile homes with the money and set up companies as part of the scheme.
More victims may be out there. When announcing the case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI said they were trying to ID more victims. Anyone who had contact with Hasuan was urged to contact the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office at 410-265-8080.
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