loomis fargo heist kelly campbell

Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. She was five-foot-seven, had dirty-blond hair, and had worked with him for about a year at Loomis Fargo, until she left for another job in 1996. Conversations about stealing from the company weren't rare for Loomis employees. Authorities were notified of the robbery in the morning, when employees couldnt open the vault. He hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. 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. And they could barely afford the minimum payments, given the power bills, phone bills, car insurance bills, and home payments they had to meet. 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. The Chambers home is now gated, which means Channel 9 crews cant drive up to it like we used to. It has a certain feel, a smell and weight to it. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. He loves his motorcycle and enjoys going fishing and, while hes sorry for the past, hes not ashamed to talk about it. Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. uncanny, eerie, unnatural, preternatural, supernatural, unearthly, other-worldly, unreal, ghostly, mysterious, mystifying, strange, abnormal, unusual. 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. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. As an adult, he preferred Shakespeare, Tom Clancy, and any book he could find about the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I was relieved emotionally because I knew there was a good chance my luck might run out, Ghantt said. David got a kick out of her. Sure enough, she called a few days later, around September 16. He had since held one low-paying job after another. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. Who was she to be pressuring him? Steve Chambers would keep the rest. 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. The theft at the time the second-largest cash robbery in U.S. history has been the brunt of mocking movies and books, mostly on how the thieves, who had little money to begin with, could not control their spending habits once they did. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. But on Oct. 4, 1997, that no longer mattered and Ghantt took off with $17.3 million. The plan to. They succeeded in removing $17 million from the safe. Jeff Diamant was a reporter for the Charlotte Observer when the heist took place. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. In the first couple of weeks, they had heard both Steve and Shelley bragging about their new-found fortune, and spending remarkable amounts of money. Have a youtube channel or website similar? High around 65F. Its in the ether. 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. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. Steve's a serious guy.". Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. His collection case closes in two years. CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kelly Campbell, the woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored-car company Loomis, Fargo was sentenced yesterday to nearly six years in prison and ordered to. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantts personal safety; they had learned of Chambersmurder for hirescheme. 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. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. Turns out, most of the thieves and their accomplices have been about as effective coming up with their court-ordered restitution as they were hiding their original crimes. All of the co-defendants were arrested the next day, about six months after the heist. The bag held his mobile phone and handgun. Yet their lives seemed far easier and better than his. "Everything's gonna be all right," she told him. Curiously, Payne had recently paid of his Visa in one payment and had been driving around new and rented vehicles for the past weeks. Ghantt didnt know the full extent of what was happening back home -- how that lay low plan turned into a flurry of extravagant spending. She'd left Loomis in November 1996 to take a job elsewhere as a security guard. 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. He and his wife, Michele, moved from theirmobile homeinLincoln Countyto a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section ofCramerton. 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. In March 1997, after Loomis Fargo & Company has been robbed of $18.8 million in Jacksonville by company security guard Philip Noel Johnson, Steve Eugene Chambers and Kelly Campbell, a former employee of Loomis, decides to rob the company. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward for his arrest and conviction. 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. He knew it would mean leaving Tammy. - Jeffrey Guller, who at 81 is by far the oldest of the Loomis defendants, still owes almost $1.1 million on his original court debt of $1.14 million and will remain on the governments books for another four years. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. Ghantt had struck up a relationship with a fellow Loomis Fargo employee, Kelly Campbell; they continued to maintain contact even after Campbell left the company. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. 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. Well they were in some sense celebrities, Gronquist said. An additional tip reached the FBI when Michelle Chambers made a large deposit at a bank. This technically made it abank robbery afederal offense. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. Seven p.m. came and went, and so did 7:20. David's share would be sent to Mexico, where he planned to hide and where he expected Kelly to join him. But being the vault supervisor at Loomis Fargo had one perk -- exposure to tons of cash. And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats The actual crime itself required none of Hollywood's imagination. Loomis Fargo, the nation's largest privately held armored- car company, used vans to transport hundreds of millions of dollars a day belonging to banks and other businesses, stocking automated teller machines and storing money in the Loomis vault between deliveries. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. 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. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.'. 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. He knew his mother would be traumatized, shocked, and appalled. 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. Each cart, holding about $2 million, was taking David seven or eight minutes to stack, push, and empty into the van, and there were about eight cartloads' worth in the vault. Prosecutors say a vault. "its a great readsuspenseful, often funny, just the thing for those wondering what it might feel like to have, as these hapless, small-town criminals did, literally too darn much cash lying around. " A third surveillance tape was carelessly left behind, and the company was able to identify the man who robbed the vault as David Ghantt. - Husband and wife Steven and Michelle Chambers, whose conspicuous consumption of a luxury home, a BMW convertible, breast implants and a $600 wooden Indian, among other purchases, helped the FBI solve the crime, were assessed $3.81 million and $4.8 million, respectively. David and the trainee left the warehouse. So the original gang was all totally shocked, Wydra said. 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 they've ever had. Some of that money is just gone. Ghantt met up with the other members of the plot and offloaded the cash. Living with his wife, Tammy, in a mobile home, he had longed for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood that had come to seem luxurious, a pipe dream for him now. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ). 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. There was a book published in 2002 as well, by author Jeff Diamant called,Heist! 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. The trainee didn't know to check to make sure it was closed. It should have been easy, but for some reason the gate didn't open for him. Thirty years! In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. Still facing possible unknowns of other people involved, the FBI needed to gather more information without the suspects getting suspicious of them. 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. 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. 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. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. 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. Her case closes in 2025. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. Four-wheeling. If it didn't work out, he could return to the United States later with a new identity. In total, 24 people were convicted and all but one of the accused pleaded guilty. Ghantt, in order to conserve this money, curtailed his spending. The reason David didn't know Steve's last name was so they couldn't identify each other to the police or FBI, should cops or G-men ever enter the picture. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. Low 46F. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. 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. Human nature is a flexible part of life, Gronquist said. But if you did, youll never forget it. 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. The participants in the heist also spent lavishly on fancy jewelry, fancy cars and breast enhancement surgeries. "I don't have time to mess with you. 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). 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. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. For people earning $8.15 an hour David's salary the jokes came naturally. David Ghantt was just an average Joe with an average low-wage job. 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. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. 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. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy aToyota Siennaminivanin two cash installments. The robbery was committed by David Scott Ghantt who was the vault supervisor and accomplices Kelly Campbell, Steve Chambers, Michelle Chambers, Michael Gobies, and other four members. true story that has captivated American audiences on the news and now on the big screen in the major motion picture, Masterminds. You Save 23%. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. He played high school football at Mays High School in Atlanta, and college football at Georgia Tech . He was a hard worker, smart enough, and had graduated from high school. He realized his life wouldn't improve unless he did something drastic. Winds light and variable. Money. personal/abusive/condescending attacks on other users or goading Booklist "Librariesshould consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel." To visit friends.". The figures can be astounding. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. 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. Even with several vehicles, they underestimated how much space they would need and they had to leave $3 million behind. He waffled on the heist idea three or four times from late August to mid-September. David's vision for all of this actually derived more from books than from movies. ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east. Tuesday marked 25 years since a group of buddies pulled off the third-largest money grab in U.S. history -- the Loomis Fargo heist. When some friends stole a stop sign from a busy intersection, David made them put it back. "I'll need help moving the money, getting a new ID, and leaving the country," he told her. Thank you! You can garnish wages. Not every agent has a case like that, he said. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). He knew they were nervous outside waiting for him, but he also knew he wouldn't stop stealing until he had taken everything. 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. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. 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. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. In the end, the FBI was able to capture the original gang in five months, snaring 21 individuals for their participation in the crime. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. FBI video shows the agency searching that home and finding drawers full of cash. He put on his best pair of jeans, a button-down shirt, and his nicest cowboy boots. My knee-jerk reaction was to be angry, and then the sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, Ghantt said. Since then, there have been numerous articles, books, documentaries and even a movie about this gang -- the gang that couldnt shoot straight. All but one of the 24 defendants pleaded guilty, and the one who didnt take the deal was convicted. As beads of sweat formed under his red hair, he loaded up another cart and repeated the process. 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. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Charlotte Observer"more than a crime story, and one that's worth reading." The Charlotte area's economy was booming all around him, and he felt passed over. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. Kelly called, using David's own cell phone, to ask where he was already, because she and the others were waiting outside for him. In 1994, they moved to Gastonia, North Carolina, where they had grown up, and David took a job driving a forklift. You can seize property. The plan was still on, but David remained steamed. La vie de David Ghantt n'a rien de compliqu. "Don't double-cross us," the woman on the phone told David Ghantt. 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. 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. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft . OWLS director fired in wake of new board taking over, New rules will require flood history disclosure in real estate, North Carolina recreational spring flounder season canceled for 2023, Supreme Court seems ready to sink student loan forgiveness, Beach commission gets update on search for new sources of sand for beach nourishment. 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. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. The inspiration behind the major motion picture Masterminds starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, and Jason Sudeikis! The building was configured so vans could drive inside and pull up next to the vault. Available on Compatible NOOK Devices and the free NOOK Apps. And if that gives people out there a little bit of hope, then Ive served my purpose on this earth.. In David's eyes, Johnson's big mistake was that he did it alone. More than 2 million dollars are still missing to this day. Sun, sand and beaches are all part of why Jacksonville is a popular destination. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. VERDICT The first edition of this work was published in 2002. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. He quickly found out when you have money, you just have different problems, Wydra said. 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. Pink, Mr. Blue, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blonde. It all went down in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the man at the center of that heist, David Scott Ghantt, now lives in Jacksonville. When Ghantt called Campbell asking for more money, a plan was set in motion to take him out. Later that year, he saw a newspaper ad for a job at Loomis Fargo. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. Its said the current owner now has it in storage in Phoenix, Arizona. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. Sure to be in demand as the book has been made into a movie, Masterminds, to be released in August.Michael Sawyer, Pine Bluff, AR. Afterward, she and David would talk just occasionally on the phone. The plan was to maintain a low profile and wait for things to cool off, allowing Ghantt to return to the states and collect his cut. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. In fact, he had recently finished a book about the FBI and felt it provided insight into the agency's investigative techniques, insight he thought could help the little gang succeed. 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. Was the temptation too much? 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. We are happy to work with other website publishers. Another name the FBI had become very interested in is Eric Payne. 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. Lacking a college degree, he found that his army skills felt meaningless in the 1990s job market. So he and some friends decided at the end of his Oct. 4 shift he would load a company van with more than 2,000 pounds of cash and just drive away. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. The defendants received sentences ranging from probation for several relatives to over 11 years in federal prison for Steve Chambers. Spunk. 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. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Cool interesting stuff features everything odd, weird, bizzare, strange or unusual. 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. Some of that money is just gone. Perry identified the other six people arrested as Steve and Michelle Chambers; Kelly Jane Campbell, a former Loomis employee; Michael L. McKinney; Thomas Nathan Grant; and Eric Haley Payne.. On the evening ofOctober 4, 1997, the Loomis Fargo & Co branch in Charlotte, North Carolina was in the process of being plundered. Though much of the cash was already stacked on pushcarts in the vault, other stacks were on shelves or the floor, and they were heavy. He was the only employee unaccounted for the next morning, and videotapes recovered at the Loomis Fargo Charlotte office showed Ghantt removing cubes of cash and loading it into a Loomis Fargo armored van for over an hour. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. Nathan, Steves cousin, was found in a mobile home the Chambers had abandoned. 2023 Cox Media Group. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft [Jeff Diamant] on Amazon.com. The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. That was taking the long view. But what the bank didnt tell Michelle, and Michelle didnt know, was that one of those forms get filled out if you ask about it, or if its close to $10,000 or if they suspect that any part of that transaction is suspicious, Wydra said. The police almost immediately called theFBI, since 95% of the money handled at the facility was owned by banks. You can have your whole career and not have a case like that. The October 4 shift was lasting longer than expected, due to delays involving pickups and deliveries. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. 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. It's still the hot topic . Steve decided to send his cousin, Nathan with money down to Mexico as a ruse, while Mike the bodyguard would follow behind to take care of Ghantt. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. 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.

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