David told Kelly they would have to control themselves and not spend the money too quickly, because the FBI could electronically trace a suspect's recent spending activity through bank papers, credit card records, and land transactions. America's Dumbest Heist! (True Crime Documentary) | Real Stories Except for the kiss in the pickup truck a few weeks before the heist, Kelly had kept things platonic. David would simply empty the vault and deliver the money to the others. The Chambers home is now gated, which means Channel 9 crews cant drive up to it like we used to. Ghantt reported to Chambers that his supply of money was running low, but Chambers sent Ghantt just $8,000. Chambers would then occasionally wire Ghantt money and see to his basic financial needs; when the heat was off, Ghantt was to re-enter the U.S. and the money would be split up among all of the co-conspirators. Heist! You Save 23%. He even had to watch what he bought at the grocery store. Still facing possible unknowns of other people involved, the FBI needed to gather more information without the suspects getting suspicious of them. Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. Johnson had stolen $18.8 million earlier in the year, on March 19, 1997, only to be caught five months later, in late August, while crossing into Texas from Mexico to retrieve some of the money, which he'd hidden in a shed in mountainous western North Carolina. I gotta go.". Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. For example, Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a trailer and upgraded to what would today be a multi-million-dollar mansion at Cramer Mountain. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. Have a youtube channel or website similar? Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. But you cant get blood from a stone,, Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. And once he started, he didn't stop with one cartful. One night in a small North Carolina town, a down-on-his-luck guard at Loomis Fargo manages to steal $17 millionliterally more than one ton of cash. just generally being a jerk. Not all of them, but some of them are going to forgive you, theyre going to overlook it., he said. FILE - Kelly Campbell, one of the 21 people convicted for their involvement in the $17 million Loomis Fargo heist, awaits sentencing for her part in the theft at her mobile home near. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. A report by the General Accounting Office found that as of budget year 2016, $110 billion in restitution ordered by the federal courts was outstanding and that more than 90% of the amount had been classified as uncollectible.. He and his wife, Michele, moved from theirmobile homeinLincoln Countyto a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section ofCramerton. Ghantt, who by then was long out of prison, served as a consultant. How Did David Ghantt, Kelly Campbell, Steve Chambers Steal More Than All but one of the 24 defendants pleaded guilty, and the one who didnt take the deal was convicted. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft . He tried again to make the back gate rise, to no avail. If it didn't work out, he could return to the United States later with a new identity. The bigger the amount, however, the bigger the damages to victims that likely will never be repaid: Amy Paynes collection account was closed in 2020 with her having paid $53,000 of the $274,000 she owed. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. He had approached her inside the chain-link fence that surrounded the building and said with a flirty smile, "If you give me a cigarette, I'll be your friend. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including avelvet Elvis. The inspiration behind the major motion picture Masterminds starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, and Jason Sudeikis! His collection case closes in two years. After marrying Tammy in 1992, he worked fueling airplanes at the airport in Hilton Head, South Carolina. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist - molecularrecipes.com Library Journal "highly entertaining." About the worst he had done as a teenager was stealing a construction company's Porta-Jon with a friend, tying it to the back of a pickup truck, and driving around for about fifteen minutes. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) During one overnight shift, a bumbling conspiracy of thieves just west of Charlotte stole more than $17 million from Loomis Fargo. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. He allegedly hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. As beads of sweat formed under his red hair, he loaded up another cart and repeated the process. The supervisor liked him and gave him the job. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. This month marked 25 years since one of the biggest armored car heists in U.S. history. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. Pink, Mr. Blue, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blonde. Its attracted workers like Ghantt. They succeeded in removing $17 million from the safe. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct.. VERDICT The first edition of this work was published in 2002. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. The Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later We went on a mission to calculate exactly how much size-wise the money was, $11.3 million in $20 bills, and it weighed over 2,000 pounds, former FBI agent John Wydra said. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. It was 2:00 p.m. on October 4, 1997, and tension was building between two planners of what would rank high among the largest heists in United States history. Tips had led the FBI to begin monitoring Chambers (and his wifes) activities, but it was not until the FBIrecorded a phone callfrom Ghantt in Mexico that the final connection was made. And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. Campbell was another employee at Loomis Fargo and she and Ghantt quickly struck up a relationship, one that Campbell denies was ever romantic though FBI evidence says otherwise, and one that continued after she left the company. Human nature is a flexible part of life, Gronquist said. Of course the problem was, the money belonged to someone else. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. His eyes widened and he stopped breathing as he realized that something as mundane as a malfunctioning gate might ruin their entire plan. Twenty years ago this Wednesday, a small group of people stole $17 million in cash from the main vault of a Loomis Fargo & Co. armored-car warehouse in west Charlotte. Heist!: The $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft - amazon.com He and Tammy could have one or two meals each week that he really liked, but the rest were hot dogs or Hamburger Helper. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Clear skies. The real 'Masterminds' In all, they recovered $6.6 million. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. When they hung up, she called his pager and left the code 1-4-3, beeper-speak for "I love you," based on the number of letters in each word. He would then have the bulk of his share sent south of the border. In preparation for what lay ahead, David had backed an unmarked company Ford Econoline van near the vault entrance and opened the van's back door. You should definitely start your own blog, I highly recommend it. The real story behind the second largest bank heist in history, which But after one visit, she asked a teller How much can I deposit before you have to report it to the feds? followed by Dont worry, it is notdrug money, the bank filled out asuspicious activity report, which ultimately reached the FBI. Fact check: Is there much truth to the new 'Masterminds' movie? That was the thing that sticks in my mind to this day.. He was a hard worker, smart enough, and had graduated from high school. Ms. Campbell worked at Loomis for 11 months, leaving in November 1996, according to court papers. of violence, racism, anti-Semitism, or You can seize property. Just after the last employees left that day, surveillance footage shows a man enter the vault, and begin to load more than 2,740 pounds in cash into a nearby van, totaling around over $17 million. ", Johnson said, "Yeah, that's it. You can garnish wages. Chambers had told Campbell to do whatever she needed to do to get Ghantt to commit the robbery. In order to receive more evidence, the FBI decided to listen. Since then, there have been numerous articles, books, documentaries and even a movie about this gang -- the gang that couldnt shoot straight. Another time, the day after a Christmas in the late 1980s, David and some friends planted all the discarded Christmas trees from the area in one neighbor's front yard. The old man me would never survive that, Id have a heart attack.. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. There are many robberies registered in the history of America, but the Loomis Fargo Robbery is known to be the second largest robbery in the United States. In Reservoir Dogs, released just five years earlier, the pawns in a robbery knew each other only by assigned colors: Mr. "I've got a friend," she said, "who can hook you up with a new ID.". This was several years before the advent of smartphones and the post-9/11 increase in federal surveillance of electronic communications, and public knowledge about this tracking was less widespread. Later that year, he saw a newspaper ad for a job at Loomis Fargo. Of course the most famous thing inside the home was a velvet Elvis portrait. Now, at 7:45 p.m., with all the money finally inside the van, his aching muscles could take a breather. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. While Ghantt trusted Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. Booklist "Librariesshould consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel." At that point, Kelly and David had known each other for two years. Its in the ether. The Star-Ledger, 06/15/2015On October 4, 1997, an amateurish gang robbed Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, NC of $17 million, the second largest heist in U.S. history. Loomis Fargo Heist of 1997 - History and Other Things How many people have walked the red carpet at a movie premiere in a case that was yours?. In addition to their extravagant spending, Michelle Chambers made the mistake of loudly asking a bank teller how much cash she could deposit in her account without it being reported to the feds, and then said, its not drug money.. An additional tip reached the FBI when Michelle Chambers made a large deposit at a bank. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Now and again I run into blog posts that tends to make me want to get started on bloggin myself. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: But where will they park? Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. Campbell and her husband had always been just scraping by, however in the weeks following the robbery, the two seemed to have more money than theyve ever had. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. Authorities were notified of the robbery in the morning, when employees couldnt open the vault. The towns booming construction industry attracts workers from around the country. Loomis Fargo defendants owe as much as they stole in 1997 But after a year, they cut it down to two agents. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. Kelly called, using David's own cell phone, to ask where he was already, because she and the others were waiting outside for him. As a child, he had preferred reading to playing sports, and he would say, as an adult, that although he couldn't have told you "who was on first," he knew as a kid who the Egyptian god of the dead was. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Remember why you were elected! More calls between the two men, and also between Steve and Kelly Campbell, made it clear that the group was starting to turn on David Ghantt. Driving away, he said he felt a mix of fear, confidence and excitement that he outsmarted the FBI. Meanwhile, Ghantt's gang spent wildly and paid their family members and friends to hide money. The True Story of David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo Heist - PrepScholar Loomis Fargo Defendants Owe as Much as They Stole in 1997 David and Steve had never met, but Steve had already secured somebody else's birth certificate and social security card for him and given it to Kelly to pass along. Ghantt had fled to Mexico with $50,000 in cash, leaving the rest of the money with Steve Chambers. Thirty years! You can seize property. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. Loomis has received $978,983.79, according to Sally Butcher, an assistant clerk in the federal courts of the Western District of North Carolina who specializes in criminal debt. The participants in the heist also spent lavishly on fancy jewelry, fancy cars and breast enhancement surgeries. When some friends stole a stop sign from a busy intersection, David made them put it back. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. Channel 9 speaks with the man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 He has a regular life now, but 25 years ago, Ghantt was the mastermind behind the third-largest bank robbery in U.S. history. He had since served time in prison for the crime and told our sister station WSOC-TV Channel 9s Glenn Counts he learned a valuable lesson while behind bars. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. Their only intimate physical contact had been kissing on a mid-September night when they had driven her pickup truck to a field behind a shooting range in Gaston County to discuss their plans and the theft's chance of success. The robbery was committed by Loomis vault supervisor David Scott Ghantt, his married girlfriend Kelly Campbell (a former Loomis co-worker), Steven Eugene Chambers (a one-time FBI informant), his wife Michelle Chambers, Michael Gobbies, and four other co-conspirators. He deserved better. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. David's vision for all of this actually derived more from books than from movies. Learning from this error, David planned to leave the stolen money behind with his coconspirators while he fled to Mexico. Conversations about stealing from the company weren't rare for Loomis employees. I made a joke once that was the hardest Id ever worked for Wells Fargo -- yeah, its a lot of work, Ghantt said. Its said the current owner now has it in storage in Phoenix, Arizona. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. You can have your whole career and not have a case like that. WOMAN GETS TIME IN LOOMIS HEIST - Greensboro News and Record Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing RELATED: When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later, How I held it together is beyond me, Ghantt said. Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. Action News Jax facebook feed(Opens a new window), Action News Jax twitter feed(Opens a new window), Action News Jax youtube feed(Opens a new window), JSO K9 escapes kennel, bites three people in Jacksonville neighborhood, To know Nancy was to love Nancy: St. Johns County woman killed in suspected DUI crash, JSO says missing child alert results in deadly drowning, Senator proposes bill giving state emergency jurisdiction over custody of kids with trans parents, Florida woman accused of killing terminally ill husband released from jail. How he felt shorted by life. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. He added that money can be a motivator for anyone. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. NASCAR. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. The movie was called Masterminds and stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. It should have been easy, but for some reason the gate didn't open for him. In addition, he also rented Mike his own apartment, paid him $400/weekly and bought him a gun. The gang made numerous mistakes. Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. Steve was a serious guy? The plan was still on, but David remained steamed. Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. So its one thing to go from up here, thought, to action, he said. He worked close-by to where the van and over $3 million dollars had been ditched, and was friends with Steve Chambers. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. FBI video shows agents searching the Cramer Mountain home and finding stacks of cash. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery - Wikipedia Some of that money is just gone. "I'll need help moving the money, getting a new ID, and leaving the country," he told her. 25th anniversary of the incredible Loomis Fargo bank heist | wcnc.com Ghantt was working as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte in 1997, earning about $8 an hour and tired of his humdrum life. It, too, has changed hands several times. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]. The world is full of unexplained events, strange mysteries, and mysterious legends. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. David Ghantt And The Ridiculous Loomis Fargo Heist Javascript is not enabled in your browser. A third surveillance tape was carelessly left behind, and the company was able to identify the man who robbed the vault as David Ghantt. He hated his job and his bosses, he'd lost hope in his marriage, he wasn't going to advance at Loomis, and he couldn't afford to quit to enroll in college. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Now one of the most wanted men in America with the FBI hot on his heels, Ghantt must figure out how to get his money, get away from a hit man, and get even. Loomis Fargo defendants owe as much as they stole in 1997, Incident raises concerns about LGBTQ safety in Carteret County, Drug deal gone bad claims the life of former Marine, Man charged with DWI after SUV takes out gas pumps, fire hydrant in Morehead City, Norfolk Southern train derails in Lexington No hazmat, no anger, Beaufort Housing Authority to replace public housing apartments, New Gamer's Guildhall looks to build community, comradery, DA: 'A very dangerous individual' from Swansboro has been removed, EDITORIAL: Government derails in response to disasters, EDITORIAL: Traffic growth demands a third bridge addition, Commentary: Close look at family history disturbing, Commentary: Second Amendment subverts democracy, EDITORIAL: Attorney General Stein ignores his constitutional responsibility. Ghantts spending in Mexico was extravagant at first. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantts personal safety; they had learned of Chambersmurder for hirescheme. So that was kind of like this once-in-a-lifetime thing, Wydra said. She had attitude. Of course, this would all be a radical departure for him, and thoughts of his wife and parents did give him pause. The $17 million Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, North Carolina, was the second largest armored car robbery in U.S. history. Money. FILE - Kelly Campbell, one of the 21 people convicted for their involvement in the $17 million Loomis Fargo heist, awaits sentencing for her part in the theft at her mobile home near Mount Holly, N.C. on Aug 16, 1999. The trainee didn't yet know how the place worked, a fact David planned to use to his advantage. Four-wheeling. Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. Temptation to do something that you think you normally wouldnt do can change a lot of minds when its that kind of cash, and thats what it was., (WATCH BELOW: VIDEO: The Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later). 6-Year Sentence For Kelly Campbell | The Seattle Times They assumed that whoever was involved would keep the cash in a safe place, like a safe deposit box. After discussing his job, his marriage, and his everyday struggles, they joked about Loomis and about how easy it would be to steal from the place. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. The money weighed as much as a compact car and he did it all by himself. However, Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. More than half of the amount came from the seizure of a luxury home purchased by husband-and-wife defendants during their post-heist spending spree. So they went to Mexico and arrested Ghantt in order to protect him. There's just one hitch: Ghantt has entrusted the money to an oddball crew of accomplices who had wooed him into committing this massive theft in the first placeand who, he soon learns, are trying to take him out. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. It was David who was hours away from committing the most daring act of his life, and she was going off about Steve being a serious guy? It just happened to fall on my desk.. The same applies to trolling, the use of multiple aliases, or Getting that off his chest calmed him some, and the conversation returned to the plan. They had met in December 1995 on one of her first days at Loomis. Curiously, Payne had recently paid of his Visa in one payment and had been driving around new and rented vehicles for the past weeks. It's still the hot topic . (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). 2023 Cox Media Group. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth., White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money,, Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with., She will never get beyond the debt. We dont have the manpower to track all that (restitution) money down I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs., Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it,, You can garnish wages. The stated plan was for her to move to Mexico to be with him after the theft. A parrot tattoo on her right ankle. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. She sounded incredulous. He hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. What it does is put a ball and chain on that person for the rest of their lives, they are walking around and they are basically an indentured servant, Gronquist said. "So he stays behind and moving over two thousand pounds of . She'd left Loomis in November 1996 to take a job elsewhere as a security guard.
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