CHARLOTTE If you didnt live in the Charlotte area 25 years ago, you might not believe it. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. The bag held his mobile phone and handgun. Before the robber left Loomis Fargo, he made a trip to the managers office to remove two surveillance tapes in order to conceal his identity. Ghantt, who by then was long out of prison, served as a consultant. Ghantt said he believes in redemption, and that his mistake 25 years ago brought him all the things that are important in his life today. 12) Loomis Fargo heist- The aftermath Ultimately, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo bank heist. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. Agents raided safe deposit boxes, where they recovered more than $11 million. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. That was taking the long view. 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. Jim Gronquist was Campbells defense attorney. How he felt shorted by life. That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. And if that gives people out there a little bit of hope, then Ive served my purpose on this earth.. 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. Loomis Fargo defendants owe as much as they stole in 1997 Channel 9 speaks with the man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 The principals here are David Ghantt, a driver for Loomis, Fargo and Co.; Kelly Campbell, the woman Ghantt had a crush on, and who convinced him to commit the crime; and Steve and Michele Chambers. The 2016 comedy movie, Masterminds is based on the story of the Loomis Fargo Heist. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. He would then have the bulk of his share sent south of the border. "What would it take to convince you to do it?" ", "I don't need any more friends," she'd shot back. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. The $17 million Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, North Carolina, was the second largest armored car robbery in U.S. history. Another name the FBI had become very interested in is Eric Payne. This technically made it abank robbery afederal offense. Campbell, a former Loomis employee and one of the original masterminds of the caper, has paid off less than $21,000 of the $4,701,694.18 she was docked. The unsolved mystery of the Van Meter Visitor a winged creature! David Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis), an employee of Loomis Fargo, robbed his own vault, left the $17.3 million in cash with his co-conspirators, Kelly Campbell (Kristen Wiig) and Steve Chambers (Owen Wilson) and fled the country to Mexico. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. Enabling JavaScript in your browser will allow you to experience all the features of our site. Conversations about stealing from the company weren't rare for Loomis employees. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). David knew this was important from having followed the recent news about a Florida man who had brazenly committed the biggest heist from an armored-car company in United States history, a loner named Philip Noel Johnson, who also had worked for Loomis. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. 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. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. But he wasn't finished. David's vision for all of this actually derived more from books than from movies. High around 65F. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. A few of the Loomis restitution cases have already been closed either because the amount was paid in full or because the 20-year clock wound down. The stated plan was for her to move to Mexico to be with him after the theft. Prosecutors say a vault. ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east. Then one day, while reviewing his and Tammy's credit card bill, he did some quick math and realized that even if they met the minimum monthly payments, the bill would take thirty years to pay. uncanny, eerie, unnatural, preternatural, supernatural, unearthly, other-worldly, unreal, ghostly, mysterious, mystifying, strange, abnormal, unusual. The affidavit described Chambers as a former FBI informant who had provided information on another Loomis armored car robbery that never materialized. The van used to move the money was later located a few miles from the warehouse. A couple by the names of Steve and Shelley Chambers also became people of interest in the investigation due to their extreme sudden increase in spending. And they hit the jackpot -- FBI video shows agents recovering most of the stolen cash. Campbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantt's feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. "Do you know how much there's gonna be?" them. A parrot tattoo on her right ankle. But this time on the phone, Kelly wasn't joking. "I was unhappy with my life. 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 was a hard worker, smart enough, and had graduated from high school. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. 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. Kelly Campbell, who one day visited a Toyota dealership to purchase a minivan with twenty-dollar bills. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. Meanwhile, Ghantt's gang spent wildly and paid their family members and friends to hide money. If a prank seemed dangerous, David backed out. Arrests Made in $17 Mil. N.C. Heist | AP News Loomis Fargo employees could not open the vault the next morning, and called the police. It all seemed unfair. As beads of sweat formed under his red hair, he loaded up another cart and repeated the process. He angrily hung up the phone at Loomis, Fargo & Co., his soon-to-be former employer in Charlotte, North Carolina. Stealing from Loomis Fargo could make him rich, if he got away with it. If we work together, we can all have plenty of pie.. 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. You can garnish wages. In the grand scheme of things, the prison sentence for stealing $20 million wouldn't be much worse than for stealing just $500,000 maybe a few extra years behind bars. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. You can seize property. LeVaughn Kelly Campbell (born July 23, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former football wide receiver. He said at first, they were very proud of what they had been able to do. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. Growing up, David's family went to Disney World, sent him to religious school, and shopped at places he couldn't afford as a self-supporting adult. The October 4 shift was lasting longer than expected, due to delays involving pickups and deliveries. 6-Year Sentence For Kelly Campbell | The Seattle Times LETTER TO THE EDITOR: But where will they park? 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. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. 'Can I Keep the Velvet Elvis?': The Great Hillbilly Heist of 1997 As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to edit or "I'll need help moving the money, getting a new ID, and leaving the country," he told her. He had joined the army and earned an honorable discharge, but because of defense-industry cutbacks he hadn't been able to find a good job for himself. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. Ghantt had fled to Mexico with $50,000 in cash, leaving the rest of the money with Steve Chambers. In his youth, his mother had taken him to Sears and JCPenney, but as a man he shopped at Walmart, and while he knew there was nothing wrong with that, he wished he could afford more. In David's eyes, Johnson's big mistake was that he did it alone. Kelly had approached David with the idea in the summer, knowing he had a crush on her and winning him over with the promise that a shady friend of hers with Mafia ties would help them. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. They hadn't slept together or even fooled around much, but he was ready to commit. 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. Of course, this would all be a radical departure for him, and thoughts of his wife and parents did give him pause. The movie was called Masterminds and stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. That way, outsiders couldn't see money being loaded. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. 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). They located Steve and Shelley Chambers in their newly-purchased home at the top of a hill. Kelly Campbell - Wikipedia 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. He had stayed in a luxury hotel and paid for expensive food and activities such asscuba divingandparasailing. Kristen Wiig plays Kelly, who really wasn't that into David, but convinced him to take a fortune from Loomis Fargo in the fall of '97. Heist: The Oddball Crew Behind the $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft Accompanying her was Steve Chambers, who, though unemployed, had recently moved . "I don't have time to mess with you. The plan was for Ghantt to commit the actual robbery and then quickly leave the country forMexico but to leave the bulk of the cash with Chambers. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.. And after two years, the case is just a file. She will never get beyond the debt. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. 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. Ghantts spending in Mexico was extravagant at first. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. https://www.charlotteagenda.com/67457/loomis-fargo-heist-masterminds-movie/, http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/article104506876.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_1997_Loomis_Fargo_robbery#Company, http://retroclt.blogspot.com/2014/07/loomis-fargo-heist.html, . "Are you serious?" He knew his mother would be traumatized, shocked, and appalled. He put on his best pair of jeans, a button-down shirt, and his nicest cowboy boots. The unsolved crime mystery of Marilyn Sheppard. A few of the Loomis restitution cases have already been closed either because the amount was paid in full or because the 20-year clock wound down. In this outrageously entertaining book, Jeff Diamant, the Charlotte Observer's lead reporter on the case, offers the definitive inside account of this astonishing. 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. Eric Payne got out of prison in 2006 for his role in the heist and has since paid $11,357 on his $292,000 debt. And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. In Florida, a Loomis Fargo employee had pulled a gun on his coworkers and gotten away with $18 million, a move that FBI agents theorize Ghantt, Campbell and other employees all sat around talking about - and what they would do with that amount of money - for a while. If it didn't work out, he could return to the United States later with a new identity. That movie, Masterminds, was filmed in 2014. Since then, there have been numerous articles, books, documentaries and even a movie about this gang -- the gang that couldnt shoot straight. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. The case resurfaced in the federal courts on Thursday, Sept. 1, when the U.S. Attorneys Office in Charlotte posted a public reminder in the case file of Loomis defendant Kelly Campbell that she had fallen behind in her restitution. His collection case closes in two years. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history. The corporation handled armored transportation, ATM maintenance and other cash handling services, and had millions of currency stashed in the vault of the North Carolina branch. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. Well they were in some sense celebrities, Gronquist said. Enforcement of this policy is at the Diamant, a journalist who reported on the case at the time, goes into meticulous detail on how the heist was pulled off and its aftermath. Its said the current owner now has it in storage in Phoenix, Arizona. It's been 20 years since the Loomis Fargo heist. - Charlotte Observer By this time, agents knew where he was and had a general idea who the other players were, so they went to every bank in town to see if any of them rented a safe deposit box. VERDICT The first edition of this work was published in 2002. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. Thomas Grant, who served three years in prison for bank larceny, paid off restitution of $70,000; brother Eric Grant paid all of his $26,000; as did David Craig, $40,000; and Dennis and Sandra Floyd; $27,000. In Reservoir Dogs, released just five years earlier, the pawns in a robbery knew each other only by assigned colors: Mr. Her case closes in 2025. While Ghantt trusted Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. Four-wheeling. EDITORIAL: Computer Science misses the need for digital literacy, N. Carolina legislators announce Medicaid expansion deal, EDITORIAL: Fighting political forces that sever family ties, Special-use to get overhaul: Commissioners, planners take a look, Cape Carteret seeking new police chief one month after hiring New Bern resident for post, How many in North Carolina are awaiting student loan debt relief? Michelle Chambers received a few more months than Ghantt, because she had violated several bond conditions. Expanded two-hour true crime story about the 1997 Loomis-Fargo armored car heist in North Carolina and the serio-comic fate of its bumbling underdog perpetra. 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. Ghantt met up with the other members of the plot and offloaded the cash. While Ghantt waited for the heat from the robbery to die down, Chambers would send Ghantt small amounts of money. Campbell led Ghantt to think she loved him and they would flee to Mexico together, but she actually wanted to make a better life for herself in the U.S. With the plan in place, Ghantt sent a newly hired employee he had been assigned to train home early (reportedly, at 6 p.m.) and then proceeded to load a little more than $17.3 million in cash (approximately $11 million of which was in$20 bills) into the back of a company van. 2023 Cox Media Group. At that point, Kelly and David had known each other for two years. David placed their odds of success at 85 percent, a confidence inspired by faith not just in his planning but also in his feelings for Kelly. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. ", Johnson said, "Yeah, that's it. The $17 million was stolen last Oct. 4 from the armored-car company's vault in Charlotte. true story that has captivated American audiences on the news and now on the big screen in the major motion picture, Masterminds. Former FBI agent John Wydra, who helped crack the case, sat down with Channel 9 Reporter Glenn Counts to talk about the clues that led to solving the crime, and how the group got caught. The site features a collection of unexplained, strange and odd mysteries. When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. I appreciate your kind words! Change). '. The actual crime itself required none of Hollywood's imagination. Also charged with money laundering were innocent relatives and friends who had co-signed safe deposit boxes. There was a book published in 2002 as well, by author Jeff Diamant called,Heist! Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. From there, the money was moved from the armored car to private vehicles. They also bought aBMW Z3with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 statue of aNative American. But if you did, youll never forget it. 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. Spunk. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. All of the defendants are out of prison -- the longest sentence was 11 years. Jim Gronquist, Campbells defense attorney during the Loomis case, says the financial penalties levied against his client and her co-defendants are grossly excessive and unjust, particularly since most of the stolen Loomis money was actually recovered. That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. They succeeded in removing $17 million from the safe. The hillbilly outfit did more that just drop a few breadcrumbs. I dont know if Steve would have done it himself, but he definitely was capable of buying someone to do it for him and I think that was going to happen if we didnt step in and arrest Ghantt, Wydra said. Despite being caught on camera wheeling the money from the vault to the getaway van, David Ghantt makes off to Mexico before the FBI can blink. SEVEN NABBED IN CHARLOTTE HEIST\ - Greensboro News and Record So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. Steve was a serious guy? In Campbells case, Gronquist says his client was buried in court-ordered debt despite the fact that she took responsibility for what she had done and cooperated with prosecutors and the FBI. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. Libraries without that edition should consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel. 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. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. When I put that cash in the back of the car, by the time I got to the office the whole car smelled like that. Its in the ether. He shut the empty vault and set its timer so the vault could not be opened for two or three days. Winds light and variable. Why do we feel its so necessary to treat people like this, to say, OK, well just ruin the rest of your life because you made a bad decision., Punishment should not last a lifetime. She had previously been making frequent small deposits to avert suspicion. Why do we feel its so necessary to treat people like this, to say, OK, well just ruin the rest of your life because you made a bad decision., Punishment should not last a lifetime. Unexplained Mysteries - owned by Aliens since 2011. Two days later, when the FBI found the Loomis Fargo armored van, they discovered almost $3.3 million in cash left in the back of the van; it was later discovered that the thieves had miscalculated the sheer bulk of the small denomination currency, and that they simply left the cash that they could not take with them in the back of the van. Hed never really been in trouble, he wasnt a career criminal, said retired FBI agent John Wydra. Aprs de nombreux seconds rles comiques au cinma, elle parvient percer en co-crivant et tenant le rle principal de la It took me going to prison to realize I was a bag of worms, and it took me years of work to be somebody worthy to come back into our society, he said. But on Oct. 4, 1997, that no longer mattered and Ghantt took off with $17.3 million. 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. For the defendants in the Loomis Fargo heist, its allure was irresistible. They had to be extremely careful not to tip off the group, as they could lose potential conspirators or more information important to a conviction. remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats To visit friends.". The defendants received sentences ranging from probation for several relatives to over 11 years in federal prison for Steve Chambers. FBI video shows agents searching the Cramer Mountain home and finding stacks of cash. The towns booming construction industry attracts workers from around the country. He and Tammy could have one or two meals each week that he really liked, but the rest were hot dogs or Hamburger Helper. You should definitely start your own blog, I highly recommend it. Driving away, he said he felt a mix of fear, confidence and excitement that he outsmarted the FBI. But that only tells part of the story. Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. But with Kelly's new idea on the table, several dark realities converged on him. 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.. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. The True Story of David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo Heist - PrepScholar He waffled on the heist idea three or four times from late August to mid-September. 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. In order to receive more evidence, the FBI decided to listen. If the American Dream involved being better off as adults than your parents were, David was experiencing a version of the American Nightmare. To be brutally honest, it was that morning, Ghantt replied. 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. One day, the two employees were in the break room and got to talking about the news of the day a massive bank heist that just occurred in Florida by someone at their company. On the evening ofOctober 4, 1997, the Loomis Fargo & Co branch in Charlotte, North Carolina was in the process of being plundered. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. They could talk about anything, even topics he couldn't discuss with his wife. Ghantt didnt know the full extent of what was happening back home -- how that lay low plan turned into a flurry of extravagant spending. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. From my standpoint, it was just a business deal, Ghantt said. Seven Charged In $17M Heist - CBS News He realized his bosses would know he had worked that day and that he was missing, but maybe without a video they would think he'd been held at gunpoint and taken hostage, or even better, that he'd been killed. Now and again I run into blog posts that tends to make me want to get started on bloggin myself. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. At 2:20 p.m., the phone rang; it was Kelly again. Hes a family man with a wife and daughter. 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. He has been a staff writer for the Star-Ledger in New Jersey since 2000. 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. 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. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. Since Ghantt was the supervisor, he sent his co-worker home first. Tuesday marked 25 years since a group of buddies pulled off the third-largest money grab in U.S. history -- the Loomis Fargo heist. In addition, he also rented Mike his own apartment, paid him $400/weekly and bought him a gun.
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