Kelly told the FBI she had done drugs with David but denied knowing about the theft. 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. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. Federal prosecutors would ultimately charge 21 defendants in the case, including the Floyds, who were charged with (and pleaded guilty to) money laundering. Until, that is, he decided to hell with it he was going to pull-off the second largest heist in U.S. history. When neighbors asked where they got their money, Steve said hed played in the NFL. Agents found out where Ghantt was living because Chambers had put out a hit on him, foolishly believing Ghantt was the only person the FBI had fingered for the crime. The others sat in their cars across the street and watched him struggle to open the heavy gate. I hope everyone has moved on. The true crime behind Asheville-based Galifianakis film Ghantt and one other employee were the last to leave. Steve bought a truck, a Rolex and a motorboat. To that end, Campbell brought in her childhood friend Steve Chambers, who was characterized in the local press as a small-time drug dealer and a local fence for stolen goods, to lead the team. 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. But as soon as he drove off, I went right back in and opened the vault. Twelve hours later, at 6 that evening, Eric Payne drove a rented Budget van to his workplace, a graphics company on Performance Road in western Mecklenburg County called Reynolds & Reynolds, which was closed for the night and had a secluded parking lot where they intended to transfer the cash. But as he later recalled to the media, as soon as he stepped through those big-box doors, he realized he was flush with cash, and he didnt need to shop at Walmart ever again. Updated: 11:31 AM EDT October 4, 2022 CHARLOTTE, N.C. Tuesday is the 25th anniversary of the infamous Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, where a bank worker, with the help of two accomplices,. I was expecting her to kick me out of the house., Years later, after they married and had a child together, they watched a movie based on the whole ordeal. Cool, I say. Im a very deliberate person. The figures can be astounding. Given the presence of the surveillance tapes and a gun belonging to Ghantt, they started with Ghantts phone and pager records and discovered a pattern they attributed to an accomplice. Ghantt worked at Loomis Fargos regional office vault in Charlotte. They cursed. And though she had been made night shift supervisor at Allied Security, she still felt she would never make the money she needed. In real life: True. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. I was just going to get the money into the van. "I thought he was goofing around.". Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Meanwhile, Michele Chambers was laughing and saying, repeatedly, "Look at all this money!" According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. Kelly, she says now, was thinking about how happy she would be to send this man far away from her. Her only brush with the law had been a DUI arrest. That day, FBI agents also would arrest Scott Grant and Eric Payne, who had spent his share of the money on a motorcycle and breast implants for his wife and two sisters. "As soon as you start, you realize there's no going back," David recalled. He took bus tours of Mayan ruins. He goes, My name is Bruno. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. Because lets be brutally honest: Theyre not wrong, okay? David didn't even know Steve's name. 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the year that everything happened 1997. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. Figure in Loomis Heist Gets Prison | AP News Kelly drove David to the airport. Military + Veterans. Question: Any contact with Steve Chambers or any of the others involved with the heist? David trusted her. In hindsight, it doesnt surprise me a bit, Ghantt says, a bitter laugh catching in his throat. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. . Or does it sit in an offshore account, waiting for a prison sentence to end? . His wife, Tammy, was as shocked as Loomis officials. Thats nearly $11 million less than former Kings Mountain resident David Ghantt (played by Galifianakis in the film) helped steal from the vault where he worked in Charlotte back in October 1997. Some amateur thieves might turn to movies and TV shows for lessons on criminal behavior. That's the kind of movie they wanted to make. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Scott didn't want to, but then he remembered the hundred-grand payday. All the while, Ghantt prepared himself for the task at hand. My love for my family is by far the most important thing in my life. I can take it.". David was living under the name Mike McKinney on a phony ID. Him and I still talk every now and then. It was unclear whether anyone will get that money, authorities said. Ghantt went on to explain that he left for his flight to Mexico with about $25,000, and that two or three deliveries of extra money was made to him by the man Chambers would pay to kill him. She was a wife and mother with two children. In real life: Mostly true. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. The FBI's final challenge is finding the remaining $2 million. I wish them all a happy life and that's about it. They placed a bust of Caesar in the dining room. Her case closes in 2025. Things went from bad to worse when, in November, Michelle strolled into a bank with a briefcase filled with 200 grand and asked the manager, How much can I deposit without the bank reporting the transaction? When she showed the bank manager that she really had the money to invest, the cash was still bound in Loomis Fargo wrappers. On his second trip, Steve gave McKinney David's hotel address. I loved it. "I was trying to figure out a way to [leave my husband] and take care of my kids without having to depend on him or any other man," Kelly said. 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. Kelly Jane Campbell, a former Loomis employee; Michael L. McKinney . At the sight of all that money, Scott and Eric had the same thought: They'd made the worst mistake of their lives. Steve Chambers and Kelly Campbell, who had been friends on and off since growing up together in the mid-1980s, were at a cookout, playing cards and drinking Budweiser at Steve's Lincoln County, N.C., mobile home, Kelly recalled. Two more defendants in the $17 million Loomis Fargo & Co. robbery last year have agreed to plead guilty, and a third person entered a formal plea in court. I've got a good woman.". ', "He asked me if I'd mind holding some money for him. The barrels were Steves idea, Ghantt says. He was an old friend from East Gaston High School, tough and sure of himself. There was, however, one problem with his plan. Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle for sale at auction of items Basic and voluntary life insurance plan. So yeah, Ghantt continues, I took a bus from there to Atlanta, and then I hopped a cab from the bus station to the airport in Atlanta., Back in North Carolina, his accomplices were working as fast as they could to hide the $17 million. You can seize property. Where I was going was right there near the Cayman Islands. That time in prison was actually good for me. Inside were, along with other personal items, his keys and wedding ring. Question: Are you surprised that Hollywood took this on as a movie? Then, on a mid-September day, as he reviewed a credit card bill, David did some math. He realized that if they met the minimum monthly payments, the bill would take 30 years to pay. If I hadn't done what I did the, the life I have now with my wife and child, I wouldn't have. FBI agents recall surreal story of heist that inspired - WLOS It was the first Saturday in October. Loomis employees drive the very core of our business. Like David, Kelly was frustrated with her marriage. A third tape he didn't know about kept recording. As for his new wife, when the two just started dating, he was nervous about letting her know about his past, but he wanted to be honest. The plan was to split the money three ways: Chambers, Campbell and Ghantt would each walk away with what Ghantt estimated to be $5 million a piece the kind of money that changes lives forever. He rewarded Robert with $3,000 and vowed never to meet McKinney alone. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. Back then, it was one of the hotspots for hiding money. Ghantt planned to live off the interest for the rest of his life. Called Masterminds, the 2016 film stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. Now worried about both the FBI and McKinney, he spent even more time alone in his room. Some of that money is just gone. I missed my wife. At 7:45, David had finished loading. All were convicted. But after she left, she reached back out to Ghantt and brought up what theyd talked about that day in the break room. 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. Now, I kind of know something is fishy., Alone in Mexico with limited cash, Ghantt thought about turning himself in. It changes you. As soon as Corey left, I pretended like I was leaving. At 6 that morning, FBI supervisor Rick Shaffer led 12 agents and several Gaston County police officers up a winding road on Cramer Mountain to Steve's home. Agents noticed it two months later when it flowed to them through official channels, along with hundreds of similar reports involving other people. They paid for all of it in cash. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. Question: You were a consultant? I didn't think I had the guts. "But I had to know.". Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. "I'd been told all my life, money will not make you happy," Kelly said. He had just returned to his home in Jacksonville, Fla., when he agreed to talk about the heist, his life now and what went wrong when a group of friends who thought they could get away with stealing $17 million cash. Kelly called David at. Were others involved? Mexican police, Interpol officers and an FBI agent were watching him. He hated his job, with its 12-hour shifts. He figured Tammy wouldn't go for it, and though his marriage had been troubled, he wasn't certain he wanted to leave her. Or that it was an inheritance. ". Some received probation for money laundering, many others did hard time. Although David was in on most of the planning, one discussion between Steve and Kelly was kept a secret. 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. ];David Scott Ghanntt [Misc.] Though David had said earlier he thought there was $15 million in the vault, the sight of that much cash held them spellbound. Kelly says she underestimated the value of her life before the heist. They decorated their 6,000-square-foot stucco house with antiques, paintings and statues, including a six-foot wooden Indian that Michele had bought for $600. . Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. His name was Corey. Ghantt pulled out $50,000 from the back of the unmarked Loomis Fargo van. 1997 Loomis Fargo Robbery - Strange Unexplained Mysteries Is he telling the truth? Hidden in it was a 3 1/2-carat diamond ring that cost $43,000. Kelly would only discover later that leading up to the heist, Steve had been writing bad checks, $17,000 worth, for which he would later be convicted. Some of the biggest numbers remaining on the Loomis collection board, as is the case with Campbell, belong to those who played the biggest role in the crime: David Ghantt, the Loomis employee who loaded all that money 2,800 pounds in all into the back of a company van before escaping to Mexico, has paid just under $50,000 of the $3.81 million he was assessed. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist - molecularrecipes.com "We had David Ghantt and Kelly Campbell tied together, and we had Steven Chambers and Eric Payne with unexplained wealth, but we didn't have a tie between them," Agent John Wydra 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 Mount Holly, N.C. on Aug 16, 1999. He comes to my door, and hes got a brown paper bag in his hand. It wouldn't work, Kelly told him. Charlotte Magazine even ran a feature story about the Loomis Fargo heist with the title, White Trash Crime. The headlines, however, never bothered Ghantt. Ghantt started at Loomis Fargo in 1994, and soon worked his way up from an armored car driver to a vault supervisor. Once I start something, Im going to the end., As for how he felt in the moment, he says, Imagine me and you went on an airplane. "It wasn't me, it was Steve," she says she told him. He couldn't talk.". Why fans love it. If you were one of the much-smaller-than-expected group of people who caught Masterminds at the theater this weekend, and are looking for a fact-check of the events depicted on screen, here are some of the highlights of our chat with Diamant. Kelly's company. She'd heard his stories of other successful schemes, like getting refunds on phony tax returns, or operating a loan shark business. Ghantt fled to Mexico. "I said, 'That's all they gave me,' " McKinney recalled. . Besides her prison sentence . I learned something that was valuable at the time: Most criminals never leave a 250, maybe 300-mile circle from their home base. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. Ghantt was in fact hiding out in Mexico using McKinneys I.D., which had been sold to Chambers months earlier. ". Ghantt didn't actually meet Chambers until the night of the heist, though, according to Diamant, who would go on to write a book about it.The . Careers | Loomis US Together, they drove in a convoy to an industrial warehouse eight miles away, where Eric Payne, a fourth accomplice was. At the end of one session, they wound up kissing outside the pickup. David had grabbed $50,000 cash, but could figure out only how to carry $25,000 with him on the plane. It was late in 1996. "She said, 'What would it take to convince you to do it?' Eventually, Steve made Kelly believe they could steal from Loomis and get away with it, she said. She tried to apologize for the murder plot. That was the most painful truth to come to. "I felt that if I didn't do something, I was going to snap," David said. Ghantt:It started out as a mental exercise and somewhere between the mental exercise and the actual event, it became serious. Campbell, 29, had pleaded guilty to charges of bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder. As with many recent historic events, this one had been caught on videotape, a fact that a few dozen Charlotte FBI agents would learn in a hastily organized Sunday morning meeting. Ghantt says he operates a bulldozer for a small company. The best states in the U.S. come from coast to coast. How Did David Ghantt, Kelly Campbell, Steve Chambers Steal More Than ". He was doing what the rest of us were doing making bad decisions. Ghantt was apprehended in Mexico and returned to the United States in custody. The cash was covered with dog food. From going fishing to riding horses on the beach the whole nine yards. Charlotte hotel chef who serves with a smile recognized as outstanding ambassador, Eritrean, Ethiopian restaurant owner was a big brother and father to many in Charlotte, Home tours: This wired-up Weddington smart home has a pool big enough for the neighborhood. On Nov. 12, a confidential informant told the FBI about Steve Chambers's move from mobile home to mansion. Question: You went to Mexico. ];Kelly Jane Campbell [Misc. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. So I guess I have no regrets. And that's OK with Ghantt, who's just a few weeks shy of his 47th birthday, out of federal prison for more than a decade, married with a 9-year-old daughter and happy. And I think that makes it all the more funny, because it really offends my co-defendants. Steve tried keys on a side door. She never really worried about the moral end of it--she was focused only on getting what she wanted out of life, what so many others seemed to have in this booming part of the South. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. I hit the local library the thing that we used to do before Google, Ghantt says with a small laugh. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. He went deep-sea fishing. "I've learned that I'm a fortunate man," he said. "I work construction. 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 pay back more than $4 million. At first, David Ghantt said, "I didn't take her seriously. It will be some time before she can commune with domestic animals again. In real life: False. 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. 1997 Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle for sale at auction of items bought after Loomis, Fargo armored car facility heist by Steven Chambers, wife Michele, Kelly Jane Campbell & David Scott Ghanntt (Photo by Will And Deni McIntyre/Getty Images) The initials on the money wrapper belonged to a Loomis employee who hadn't worked there since before the heist. Scott Grant said he hesitated, but agreed if no guns would be involved. Its in the ether. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it," Ghantt said. 25th anniversary of the incredible Loomis Fargo bank heist | wcnc.com In that time, I realized most of my problems were because of me. 2500 City West Blvd., Suite 2300 Houston, TX 77042. If you go from a mobile home to a mansion, that's going to attract attention. Three weeks after the theft, Steve and Michele moved from their Lincoln County mobile home to a $635,000 house in a gated Cramerton, N.C., neighborhood. shes now Miss USA. All rights reserved. Steve told Scott to ignore the remaining stacks, which were mostly ones and fives. Starting Pay Rate: $15.50 per hour Shift: Monday - Friday from 1:00pm to 9:00pm Job Description As a Coin Processor, you work with your team to maintain inventory in our cash vaults for our Loomis customers. . In a word, "Teamwork. The authorities didn't know yet how much was missing from the armored-car company, but Steve did. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. 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. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. The pager entry was 1-4-3. When he walked onto the plane, he was wearing big, tall cowboy boots, where hed stuffed a majority of the smuggled cash. Ghantt was never in Chamberss presence until he actually handed off the money to him. They put up mauve wallpaper. That led to better jobs, like the one at Loomis. The agents tapped the phone, and it didnt take long to locate Ghantt after that. He told her he wanted more of "his" cash. . After years of reflection and time in prison to work on himself, Ghantt was able to find a way to a better version of himself. David told her he'd need help moving the money, getting a new ID and leaving the country. I threw you out, and then threw the parachute after you. He drove to the edge of the Loomis compound, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence. She came from a blue-collar background, a high school dropout who had grown tired of working in a mill and gotten an equivalency diploma. One of them tapped him on the back. Yes, Carrie Underwood adopted a dog in Charlotte. Ghantt, meanwhile, was losing his patience and starting to make threats. A couple weeks pass, and I call again, Hey, Id like to get some more money. After a Gulf War stint in the Army, David got married in 1992. The platform is designed to engage citizens and government leaders in a discussion about what needs improvement across the country. 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. Question: Are you happy that Wilkesboro-nativeZach Galifianakis plays you in the movie? In real life: Yes and no. Then Steve pushed Scott inside, and he began throwing plastic-wrapped bundles of tens, twenties, fifties and hundreds to Eric and Steve, who placed them in three blue 55-gallon barrels. Scott was so nervous, he said, that he couldn't help. . real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. He learned to parachute. The movie was overly silly and, based on a post-screening conversation with former Observer reporter Jeff Diamant who wrote a detailed 279-page book about the occasionally funny but mostly just-plain fascinating crime, titled Heist much of what wound up in the film is fiction. 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. ", "I wouldn't do it. At the party, Steve invited Michele's stepfather, truck driver Dennis Floyd, to the basement to play pool. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward after the theft. This real-life crime is the core of "Untitled Armored Car Project," which stars Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson and Kristen Wiig. Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. Few who were living in the area at the time can forget the "Velvet Elvis" painting Chambers had hanging in his mansion or the tales of cosmetic surgery, BMW convertibles and other signs of excess. They hatched the idea half-jokingly, over a game of Uno, never dreaming they were about to make Bonnie and Clyde look like bottom feeders. Theres less security. No dry runs, no rehearsals. This time, David told McKinney the truth. And so, he told her, Google my name. The FBI, in fact, obtained the evidence they needed to bring down the major players, including Chambers, after catching them talking about the murder plot on the telephone via wiretap. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. I thought, Okay, if I get out of that bubble because the cops depend on that, even the feds my chances to get away go way up.. To protect themselves, David and Steve didn't meet or talk. First, they loaded the cash into blue 55-gallon barrels, and then they moved the barrels into a rental van. He recalled that another agent, Phil King, said, "Hey, there was an article in the [Charlotte] Observer about beeper codes. I don't blame him.". Heres what happened on Sunday nights episode. He flip-flopped on the heist idea three or four times. It affects everybody different. In February 1998, the FBI tapped their phones and listened to Steve discuss depositing $2.5 million in the Cayman Islands. In the wee hours of the morning, Chambers and the Erics drove back to the town of Vale, North Carolina, and holed up in a double-wide trailer while counting their cash. And I said, Hey, man, I got this. And when everybody else voted to kill me, she voted with them, he explains. Three weeks later, the couple purchased, in cash, a $635,000 stone mansion. In real life: False. ". . (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Associated Press, BY MICHAEL GORDON, The Charlotte Observer. First, in January, he tried to get someone to take some millions down to Mexico. "He showed me a lot of money," McKinney said. Meanwhile, Steve was keeping a close eye on Kelly. The first weekday after the heist, Michele Chambers, co-conspirator Steve's wife, walked into a NationsBank branch with a briefcase containing $5,000. Explain? You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.. He couldn't even bear to stick around for the final tally--though when he left he didn't forget to take $6,000, the first cut of his expected $100,000 share. If you want me to leave, Ill leave. Then, Ghantt went into another room. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. As it turned out, Ghantt was zipping up his scuba suit in Mexico.
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