Money. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. On his way out, he grabbed the surveillance video, hoping to cover his tracks. All of the primary players got fined millions of dollars --for example, Kelly Campbell was hit with more than $4 million, an amount that she will never come close to paying. Search Tools . At the time of the real robbery, Chambers was facing criminal charges hed written 30K worth of bad checks and was facing jail time for it. Ghantt, meanwhile, was losing his patience and starting to make threats. We spoke with the inside man, David Ghantt, to get the real story. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars worth of temptation. He gave the rest to Kelly. But that only tells part of the story. He figured Tammy wouldn't go for it, and though his marriage had been troubled, he wasn't certain he wanted to leave her. I hit the local library the thing that we used to do before Google, Ghantt says with a small laugh. The robbers went on a huge spending spree, buying a massive home, artworks, big-screen TVs, expensive cars, pickup trucks, minivans, two boats, six motorcycles and several tanning beds. www.loomis.com. ALSO READ: Leader of $3M check theft, bank fraud scheme in Charlotte area sentenced to prison, The hillbilly outfit did more that just drop a few breadcrumbs. She was a wife and mother with two children. Cool, I say. And I said, Hey, man, I got this. Back in North Carolina, Ghantts former accomplices were living high on the hog. As it turned out, Ghantt was zipping up his scuba suit in Mexico. In mid-November, McKinney carried $10,000 to Cancun but wound up spending most of it on himself. Kelly, using David's cell phone, kept beeping him. 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. I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. 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. For his part, Ghantt was now officially on his way to Mexico, his future stretched out before him. Instead of lobster, the man who stole $17 million survived on home-cooked pasta and grilled cheese sandwiches. To its credit, Masterminds does nail down the broad strokes of the real story, although there were a couple of noteworthy details the film left out. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Should David be killed after he gave them the money? . I had to go in there and tell her the whole story, and she was real cool about it. You can have your whole career and not have a case like that. Then another. And then I could hear her laughing. As with Kelly, the worst blotch on 29-year-old Eric's record until now was a driving-while-intoxicated conviction. So Im like, Can you get a move on with my money? After a couple of weeks passed, I get a phone call from Kelly: Okay, Brunos coming to you, blah, blah, blah. So I get a phone call from this guy, and I tell him where to meet me. He flip-flopped on the heist idea three or four times. It, too, has changed hands several times. Then 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, Wydra said. Scott, 26, had a larceny conviction as a teenager, but he'd since cleaned up his act and now had a steady job, a daughter and a girlfriend. "I thought he was goofing around.". By Dustin Rowles | Film | September 30, 2016 |. Together, they drove in a convoy to an industrial warehouse eight miles away, where Eric Payne, a fourth accomplice was. The FBI (Leslie Jones, Jon Daly) made easy work of the case, however, and everyone involved was eventually arrested and imprisoned. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. All but one of the 24 defendants pleaded guilty, and the one who didnt take the deal was convicted. David told her he'd need help moving the money, getting a new ID and leaving the country. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. So that was kind of like this once-in-a-lifetime thing, Wydra said. He and his wife, Tammy, lived in a mobile home in Kings Mountain, N.C. Money was always tight. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. Here's what Floyd recalls: After two games of pool, Steve told him, "You know, we do a lot of gambling. They sweated, though the night was cool. 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), Florida Senator proposes bill to cancel Democratic Party in state, Georgia star Jalen Carter charged with racing in fatal wreck, FHP: Man dies after FDOT Road Ranger rear-ends truck, pushes him over edge of Buckman Bridge, Bartram Trail High School girls lacrosse player denied NIL opportunity, Contest: Win tickets to the AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) She will never get beyond the debt. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. David was sentenced to 7 1/2 years. I threw you out, and then threw the parachute after you. The agents tapped the phone, and it didnt take long to locate Ghantt after that. I ride motorcycles and fish -- normal guy, Ghantt told Counts. When he was done, the man drove off to a nearby printing press, where the money was distributed into private vehicles amongst a handful of people. Website. "I" has one letter. You can seize property. 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. They heard Michele brag about her $43,000 ring. In February 1998, the FBI tapped their phones and listened to Steve discuss depositing $2.5 million in the Cayman Islands. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]. . So he got in a cab and went to a mall. The others sat in their cars across the street and watched him struggle to open the heavy gate. He couldn't talk.". They cursed. 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.. After a Gulf War stint in the Army, David got married in 1992. 2023 Cox Media Group. It has a certain feel, a smell and weight to it. 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. Ghantt was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison. . 1-4-3 is 'I love you.' Hed never really been in trouble, he wasnt a career criminal, said retired FBI agent John Wydra. Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. "I wanted to be more like my mom and dad were.". About six months before the Charlotte theft, on March 29, a total of $18.8 million was taken from Loomis, Fargo in Jacksonville, Fla., in what was believed to be the largest heist in U.S.. But agents weren't ready to arrest Kelly and Steve. "Steve said, 'I think we ought to do it that night, when he drops off the van,' " Kelly recalled. Kelly says she underestimated the value of her life before the heist. Get to me. Its that kind of excitement.. The initials on the money wrapper belonged to a Loomis employee who hadn't worked there since before the heist. Its kind of like that. Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. When Chambers and the two Erics were done loading the stolen millions into barrels, they abandoned the van in the woods. Now he offered to pay him to carry cash to David--Steve said he was a friend hiding out after a bad drug deal, McKinney recalled. Then another. But it didnt really hit me until later., On March 2nd, when the FBI agents walked up to Ghantt in Playa del Carmen and told him he was under arrest, Ghantt was relieved. By the time the month concluded, the couple had purchased a 7,000-square-foot stone mansion in a gated country club community. While Ghantt trusted Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. Most people are going to forgive you. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. 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. The FBI continues to search for a missing $2 million from the theft. The towns booming construction industry attracts workers from around the country. Its hilarious. But it wasnt. The barrels were Steves idea, Ghantt says. Not all of them, but some of them are going to forgive you, theyre going to overlook it., he said. Twice a week over the next 12 months, we will take you back to the winter of sheep cloning and the summer of Con Air. The FBI heard about the plot and agents knew they could no longer wait. I mean, it was dark, Ghantt explains. They paid for all of it in cash. Kelly Loomis. Money'll turn your head, I don't care who you are. Search by Name Search . . Now worried about both the FBI and McKinney, he spent even more time alone in his room. Or as he tells me, How many people in the United States havent thought about robbing a bank? Ghantt was working a late shift, and just after 6:30 p.m., his coworkers were packing up and heading for home. Of course the most famous thing inside the home was a velvet Elvis portrait. Kelly Campbell arrested 11) Finally, the FBI successfully tracked down Ghantt and arrested him at Playa del Carmen. Baltimore leaders have agreed to pay a $6 million settlement to the family of a driver who was killed during a 2010 police chase involving Gun Trace Task Force officers, Four family members from Australia who were injured during a crash-landing of a sightseeing helicopter in December are suing a Las Vegas-based tour operator, Massachusetts Gov. The number of people involved had ballooned after Steve started asking friends and family to help him launder the stolen cash. 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. On Monday, October 6th, the FBI agents who were investigating the robbery located the Loomis Fargo van abandoned in the woods. 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. 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. In the dark, Scott inserted one key into the back door slot. Not Ghantt. She declined to take a lie-detector test. "You" has three. Ghantt pulled out $50,000 from the back of the unmarked Loomis Fargo van. Until, that is, he decided to hell with it he was going to pull-off the second largest heist in U.S. history. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. Username. Kelly, she says now, was thinking about how happy she would be to send this man far away from her. While the agents initiated their investigation, the Chambers spent money as quickly as they could. Steve told Scott to ignore the remaining stacks, which were mostly ones and fives. Steve had another conversation with Kelly about killing David. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. Its everything thats coming north.. About 200 keys dangled from it. They loaded the wine cellar with Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Steve hung a velvet portrait of Elvis Presley in the basement. Mexican police, Interpol officers and an FBI agent were watching him. No dry runs, no rehearsals. The Chambers home is now gated, which means Channel 9 crews cant drive up to it like we used to. An officer rang the doorbell. "It probably should bother me," he said. Even the outtakes during the credits are bad. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. It had been drilled into my head that if you give me a team of five good people, I can go anywhere, do anything," David explained. This machine is the property of Loomis. With a cast like this, and Emily Spivey (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Up All Night) as part of the writing team, Masterminds shouldnt be nearly as obnoxious and dull as it is, but nothing ever clicks. I really enjoyed the little scuba diving trip. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. It is based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo Robbery in North Carolina, which was the subject of the 2016 American comedy film Masterminds. Steve had already paid McKinney $50,000 for the use of his ID. Ghantt was caught on videotape loading large amounts of cash into a truck. How many people have walked the red carpet at a movie premiere in a case that was yours?. You see, there's a reason Loomis Fargo used armored cars to move large amounts of cash. Theres less security. He frequently entertained there, buying steaks for his guests. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. I missed my wife. The figures can be astounding. "She just called me up on the phone and said, 'Hey, let's meet one day after work.' I think if you remember some of her early photographic opportunities, shall we put it that way, she was sort of laughing, not seeming to take it seriously.. 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. Her marriage--at which she was making another ambivalent effort after multiple separations--and even the jobs she'd been able to get with a diploma couldn't come close to providing the kind of life she dreamed about, the life she felt she deserved: a house in the country, a swimming pool, and enough cash so she didn't need to rely on men. He partied, met women, drank, skied and hung out at the beach. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. David Ghantt was just an average Joe with an average low-wage job. At the sight of all that money, Scott and Eric had the same thought: They'd made the worst mistake of their lives. First, they loaded the cash into blue 55-gallon barrels, and then they moved the barrels into a rental van. Its about the 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery also known as the hillbillly heist the second largest cash robbery in the history of the United States. I did a little research into crime statistics and the local cops. Not until David was gone did Scott realize he didn't know which key to use. They set the date, Oct. 4, a Saturday when David knew he could be alone in the building after his shift. To celebrate Halloween, about seven of Steve's friends, including Eric Payne and Kelly, gathered for a party at Steve's house. A third tape he didn't know about kept recording. He para-sailed, power-skied and scuba-dived. FBI video shows agents searching the Cramer Mountain home and finding stacks of cash. "He said, 'Yeah, right,' and turned his head. When we worked together [for Loomis], we'd joke about it. As soon as you put that first bag of stolen money in that van, theres no going back. Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. They ditched the Loomis van, then drove the cash-heavy Budget van to Steve's mobile home in Lincoln County, where his wife, Michele, waited with a calculator and rubber bands. Steve tried keys on a side door. He would pay McKinney $250,000, half upfront. You can garnish wages. More agents waited outside to arrest them. Although David was in on most of the planning, one discussion between Steve and Kelly was kept a secret. Or that it was an inheritance. "Every time my conscience would start bothering me," Kelly recalled, "I'd smoke another joint and forget about it.". "I've learned that I'm a fortunate man," he said. At the time, it was the largest cash heist in history. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. 0 Comments Get local news delivered to your inbox! About 10 frantic minutes later, Scott found the right key. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges.
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