real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist

One of the best ways to learn more about U.S. history is to make sure youre taking history classes. For a time, it was nicknamed "the hillbilly heist" because nearly all of the major players in the case came from small towns around Charlotte. David Ghantt was a nuisance to Steve Chambers and Kelly Campbell, John Wydra, a retired FBI agent who handled the case, told Super Heists.. From going fishing to riding horses on the beach the whole nine yards. The barrels were Steves idea, Ghantt says. 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. All of the cash from the Loomis Fargo heist was recovered or accounted for, except for $2 million. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. But thanks in part to the film, the outlandish story of David Ghannt and the Loomis Fargo heist will surely live on for years to come. The whole town I was staying in was 98.9 percent Mexican, except for when the cruise ships were in, Ghantt recalls. And I was thinking about just showing up there. This meant a bump in pay, up to $8.15 an hour. Once Ghantt loaded the large haul from the vaultwhich could have been close to $20 millioninto a truck, he planned to drive to a second location, then head straight to the airport and fly to Mexico. Ghantt believed the new employee would make a good replacement for his wife, but the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated. The College Entrance Examination BoardTM does not endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with the owner or any content of this site. Webbird adoption adelaide real life kelly campbell loomis fargo. Things were spiraling fast. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. Because Ghantt was the only employee who wasnt there that morning, he became the obvious suspect. So it was weird when during the middle of the week, there were these very clean-cut, very Midwestern looking, obviously American guys in the town. After meeting up with Chambers, Campbell, and some other co-conspirators, Ghantt hightailed it to Mexico with $50,000 in cash in his car. As it turned out, Ghantt was zipping up his scuba suit in Mexico. An inept hitman was sent to kill David Ghantt. A Comprehensive Guide. It was the first Saturday in October. When Ghantt was on the plane home from Mexico with the FBI, he admitted to the agents that while Campbell had been integral to why hed done it and that he did indeed have a crush on her it was never his true motivation. Back then, it was one of the hotspots for hiding money. Ghantt planned to live off the interest for the rest of his life. SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination BoardTM. Zaron Burnett is an investigative journalist and longform features writer based in Los Angeles. Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. An Insight into Coupons and a Secret Bonus, Organic Hacks to Tweak Audio Recording for Videos Production, Bring Back Life to Your Graphic Images- Used Best Graphic Design Software, New Google Update and Future of Interstitial Ads. Naturally, Ghantt started to run out of cash and turned to Chambers, who was annoyed by his requests for more money. So Chambers decided to solve the problem by putting a hit on Ghantt. Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. 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. Instead, the bandits just started throwing as much money as they could into the van until they couldnt fit anymore. Ghantt pulled out $50,000 from the back of the unmarked Loomis Fargo van. 7 Is the movie Masterminds based on a true story? FBI security footage of David Ghantt in the midst of the Loomis Fargo heist. WebTo 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 The next day, the Chambers, Campbell and other members of the ring were arrested. The next day, Steve and Michelle Chambers, Kelly Campbell, and four others were arrested.[6]. The U.S. Ghantt was caught on videotape loading large amounts of cash into a truck. As soon as you put that first bag of stolen money in that van, theres no going back. The agents tapped the phone, and it didnt take long to locate Ghantt after that. Her case closes in 2025. Then, I started loading the van., Money, when bound in bulk and stacked in canvas bags, is heavier than you might expect. On similar grounds, four other people were ultimately also charged with money laundering. 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. Although the FBI investigation was able to quickly connect Ghantt to Campbell, connecting Ghantt to Chambers was a more difficult task. When neighbors asked where they got their money, Steve said hed played in the NFL. In the end, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo heist. Ghantt, Chambers, and Campbell came up with the following plan: Ghantt would remain in the vault after his shift on the night of the heist, Oct. 4, 1997, and let his co-conspirators into the vault. So I was glad it was over. David Ghantt And The Loomis Fargo Heist: The Outrageous True Story. They discussed it further, and Campbell asked him when they should do it. Then check out another bank robber who inspired a movie, John Wojtowicz. About 20 ago, Campbell sent him a letter of apology, but he never responded. [1], Steven Chambers finished serving his sentence in November 2006. Although the history of the predecessor Wells Fargo & Company dates back to 1852, Loomis Fargo & Company was established in 1997 by the consolidation of Wells Fargo Armored Service and Loomis Armored Inc.; the resulting corporation employed 8,500 people and provided armored transportation, cash handling services, and automatic teller machine maintenance. Before he left, he went into his managers office and removed tapes from two of the security cameras. Youre better at planning bank heists than David Ghantt. I work construction. I didnt pick the heist team. Officials suspected that the extravagant purchases stemmed from the fact that all involved got far more money than they anticipated and literally didnt know how to spend or get rid of it, which is perhaps backed up by the fact that Chambers wife once walked into a Belmont Wachovia with $200,000 in a briefcase wanting to know how much she could deposit without the bank reporting it to officials. 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. As it turns out, the heist did in fact go as well as you might expect. Ghantt would pocket the $50,000 and head to Mexico with Campbell, where hed stay until it was safe to come back. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. Said Ghantt, one day life kinda slapped me in the face. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. Truth be told, Ghantt had something of a crush on Campbell, and so, he told her exactly how hed pull off such a heist. Best States is an interactive platform developed by U.S. News for ranking the 50 U.S. states, alongside news analysis and daily reporting. There was also no dramatic showdown between Chambers and Ghantt as the movie suggests. Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. In addition to his phone calls with Ghantt, Chambers began extravagantly spending the money, even though the co-conspirators had agreed to lay low for a year or two. WebAydin Properties > Uncategorized > real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. If you want to go ahead and go, I got it. Its in the ether. Charlotte Magazine even ran a feature story about the Loomis Fargo heist with the title, White Trash Crime. The headlines, however, never bothered Ghantt. Copyright 2022 TheAssociated Press. First, in January, he tried to get someone to take some millions down to Mexico. Ghantt started at Loomis Fargo in 1994, and soon worked his way up from an armored car driver to a vault supervisor. At 6:40 p.m., he headed to his car along with three other employees before returning to the depository, where hed propped open the door. Another accomplice, Eric Payne, took a three week, unpaid vacation, had his wife quit her job as a receptionist and bought a new Harley Davidson, Chevy Tahoe, big-screen TV, computer and new trailer. Ghantt was working a late shift, and just after 6:30 p.m., his coworkers were packing up and heading for home. The money was successfully handed off, and Ghantt and Campbellmade their way to the Columbia airport with $50,000 and an intent to make it to Mexico by the next day, where the two would hide out while Chambers took care of things in Charlotte until it was safe to come back. The last time he called me, he said, Hey Ghantt, I just saw a big Loomis Fargo truck. And when everybody else voted to kill me, she voted with them, he explains. Learning about US history? 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. David Ghantt was portrayed by Zackary Hatfield. Ron DeSantis has awarded $100 million for beach erosion projects and other restoration efforts in 16 coastal counties damaged by Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole, A Tennessee judge has ruled that video detailing the treatment of a death row inmate who cut off his penis while on suicide watch must be made public, An Indiana man faces felony charges after his diaper-clad 4-year-old son was seen pointing a loaded handgun at people outside their apartment. Chambers and his wife also made some cash payments on a few cars. Called Masterminds, the 2016 film stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. WebThe Loomis Fargo Bank Robbery was the $17.3 million cash robbery of the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of Loomis Fargo & Company on the evening of Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. David Ghantt had been a model employee for an armored car company before pulling off the s His new life in Mexico had begun. Join the 119,947 smart Charlotteans that receive our daily newsletter. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. Ghantt and one other employee were the last to leave. 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. 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. Thirteen friends and family members were also charged with money laundering, as they had helped Ghantt, Chambers, Campbell, and the others deposit money illegally. I had a four-hour layover there, and then from New Orleans to Cancun.. Ghantts accomplices soon showed up but now they had another problem. His partners, who planned to stay behind, agreed to send him his full cut of the money after the heat from investigators had died down. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! By the time the month concluded, the couple had purchased a 7,000-square-foot stone mansion in a gated country club community. Michelle, meanwhile, purchased new breasts for herself, along with a $43,000 diamond ring and a new convertible BMW Z3. I knew that the news wouldnt break until later that morning. 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. We spoke to the FBI agents who investigated the case who say the real-life masterminds couldnt contain their spending-spree. On July 10, Jon Daly joined the cast of the film to play an FBI agent. I was looking at small sailboats and theyre not cheap, he tells me. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ A woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored car company Loomis, Fargo & Co. was sentenced Tuesday to nearly six years in prison and ordered to pay back more than $4 million. Thatd be the time to do it, Ghantt recalls. Because lets be brutally honest: Theyre not wrong, okay? [7][8], Rocket Science, a 1998 double-disc album by Charlotte-based radio personalities John Boy & Billy, includes a track ("Marvin: The Loomis Caper") mocking the defendants. On the evening of October 4, 1997, one man loaded $17.3 million in cash from the vaults of Loomis, Fargo & Co. into the back of a van. In 1997, six men pulled off what remains the biggest cash heist in the history of the United States. The thieves had simply abandoned whatever they couldnt carry away. Ghantt called Chambers asking for more money, and was promptly arrested near Comuzel, which was a good thing for Ghantt, who had been targeted by a hitman hired by Chambers. Less than a month later, the family moved from a double-wide to a 7,000-square-foot, $635,000 home in a gated country club community in Gaston County. 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. Its kind of like that. The two struck up a friendship during work that would continue after Campbell left the Chambers was a small-time crook who suggested to Campbell that they rob Loomis Fargo. If you want me to leave, Ill leave. Then, Ghantt went into another room. It happened on October 4, a Saturday. Loomis Fargo employees could not open the vault the next morning and called the police. Soon, the couple would be paying for something else, too: a hitman. And with that, David Ghantt took off for Mexico. There was, however, one problem with his plan. Ghantt and Campbell couldnt get to Mexico from Columbia, as there were no international flights being offered out of the hub, which they would have known, had they called ahead. Its kind of out of sight, out of mind, she said of the reasoning. The FBI quickly connected Ghantt to Campbell, who was a former Loomis Fargo employee. 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. While she made small deposits at first, she became more reckless, eventually making a deposit of thousands of dollars in cash, telling the teller not to worry: Its not drug money.. When he walked onto the plane, he was wearing big, tall cowboy boots, where hed stuffed a majority of the smuggled cash. So much so that one suspicious neighbor called the FBI. On Monday, October 6th, the FBI agents who were investigating the robbery located the Loomis Fargo van abandoned in the woods. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. At that same time, Steve was growing sick of the calls to send more money to Ghantt, and was looking for a way to end that issue. There used to be a consulate in Cancun. The plan was for Ghantt to commit the robbery and then quickly leave the country for Mexico but to leave the bulk of the cash with Chambers. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. WebWas Loomis Fargo heist real? But thanks in part to the film, the outlandish story of David Ghannt and the Loomis Fargo heist will surely live on for years to come. Other noteworthy purchases included a diamond ring and Rolex for themselves, tanning beds and big-screen TVs for their home and breast implants for Chambers wife. Its hilarious. WebCampbell 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 The only defendant to not plead guilty, Chambers's attorney Jeff Guller, was found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to eight years in prison. She laughed for like 45 minutes. The robbery of some $17 million quickly became one of the wildest bank heists of the last quarter century. The conversations werent made up of much more than daydreams that took the vague shape of plansuntilCampbell mentioned that she had a high school friend with connections that could actually get it done. I hear her typing. For the New York State assemblyman, see. Meanwhile, David Ghantt was relaxing on a beach in Cozumel, Mexico. Also charged were several innocent relatives that the robbers had enlisted to help get safety deposit boxes in various banks. I felt cornered and one day the joking in the break room about robbing the place suddenly didnt seem so far-fetched.. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. Then he and Campbell drove 90 miles to Columbia, South Carolina, where Ghantt planned to purchase a ticket to Mexico so he could be out of the country before news of the robbery broke the next morning. By then Id figured out that Bruno was up to no good, and that Id probably never seen any more of my money. As soon as Corey left, I pretended like I was leaving. The platform is designed to engage citizens and government leaders in a discussion about what needs improvement across the country. I mentioned it to Kelly. In the meantime, the FBI was closing in looking to bust a total of 21 suspected accomplices. Ghantt reported to Chambers that his supply of money was running low, but Chambers sent Ghantt just $8,000. Soon everyone would know about the arrests in the $17 million Loomis Fargo heist. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. Campbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantts feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. And thats OK with Ghantt, whos 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. All rights reserved. Michelle Chambers received seven years and eight months, while Steve Chambers was handed an 11-year sentence. wydd radio pittsburgh; dumb military bases Florida Gov. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. First, they loaded the cash into blue 55-gallon barrels, and then they moved the barrels into a rental van. And to me, if it pisses them off, Im all for it.. And so this third camera caught everything that happened next. Zach always plays that bumbling kind of lunatic, but hes not, Ghantt says. From there, the money was moved from the company vehicle to private vehicles. If you can see the obvious flaw in this plan, namely that Chambers would have no reason whatsoever to actually wire Ghantt any money, then congratulations. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. Inside the truck, they found Ghantt's ring and surmised this was a sign of Ghantt's intention to end his relationship with his wife. Hes going to start bringing you money. Alright. Did you know that the SAT offers subject exams, too? Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. I said, Listen, You all need to get your shit together, or Im just going to walk over here to the government building and tell them who the fuck I am. That lit a little fire under her ass, for a bit.. 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. new mexico state police vin inspection; does white vinegar lower blood pressure; prudential tcfd report Theres no management around. I hit the local library the thing that we used to do before Google, Ghantt says with a small laugh. In the film, Jason Sudeikis plays a sadistic assassin hired to knock off Ghantt, who befriends him. WebWord trickled in to the FBI that Ghantt had a romantic interest in a former coworker, Kelly Campbell, who one day visited a Toyota dealership to purchase a minivan with twenty I knew it was over then, Ghantt said. Ghantt and his compatriots, it turns out, had underestimated how bulky money is. Campbellwho was married herselfrepresented something new and exciting. After loading the massive cache of loot into the armored truck, Ghantt set the time lock on the vault, which locked the door for days unless the employees drilled through the lock. All the while, Ghantt prepared himself for the task at hand. And it turned Steve into he thought he was Don Corleone all of a sudden.. 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. ", After successfully tracing Ghantt's phone call, FBI agents coordinated with Mexican police to arrest Ghantt on March 1, 1998, at Playa del Carmen, a city near Cancun. This is the person I counted as my friend. They left behind the cash they couldnt fit in their cars. WebCampbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantts feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.. In fact, David Ghantt was about to commit the heist of a lifetime. As the FBI listened in to Chambers calls, they discovered that he was also planning to have Ghantt assassinated, hoping to keep all the money for himself. In spite of Chambers assurance that the money was, you know, totally not illegally acquired, the teller remained suspicious, especially because the stacks of cash still had Loomis Fargo wrappers on them. He completed his prison sentence in November 2006. By comparison, Ghantt served seven years in prison and was fined $26,000. He stayed at a luxury hotel and took scuba diving lesson. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. Michele Chambers 1998 BMW for sale following the prosecutions of the Loomis Fargo heist conspirators. Now, I kind of know something is fishy., Alone in Mexico with limited cash, Ghantt thought about turning himself in. So he hatched a plan to rob his employers. Her sentence was delayed until Jan. 1 so she could spend the holidays with her family. On March 1, 1988, Mexican police arrested Ghantt at Playa del Carmen. Him and I still talk every now and then. This article will teach you more about the SAT subject testsasync src='https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js' and help you decide whether you should take them. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ A woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored car company Loomis, Fargo & Co. To find out more about how the thieves got caught and how long they landed behind bars, tune in the Super Heists on CNBC on Monday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. Unfortunately, he failed to disable the third camera. From there, hed meet Campbell, Chambers and Grant, a friend of Chambers, in a parking lot, from where they would head to an industrial warehouse and load all but $50,000 into a rental van. Ghantt would go on to spend six and a half years in federal prison. And then I could hear her laughing. On September 12, 1997, six men robbed the Dunbar Armored facility on Mateo St. in Downtown Los Angeles, California of US$18.9 million (equivalent to $30.5 million in 2020). I was working all the time and unhappy I felt cornered and one day the joking in the break room about robbing the place suddenly didnt seem so far-fetched.. Generally, the events of the film are fairly close to reality when they follow the broad details of the case. WebCampbell made her way back to Charlotte (Ghantt was told by Chambers to head to Atlanta and catch a flight from there), where the money had since been moved into barrels and It affects everybody different. As he later recalled about his life before the 1997 heist that changed his life forever: Prior to, I would have never even considered it but one day life kinda slapped me in the face. Some amateur thieves might turn to movies and TV shows for lessons on criminal behavior. Campbell made her way back to Charlotte (Ghantt was told by Chambers to head to Atlanta and catch a flight from there), where the money had since been moved into barrels and into another van. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Ultimately, though, the heist wasnt Ghantts idea, which meant he didnt decide who else was involved. In total, 24 people were convicted and all but one of the This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. At first, I just blended in with the tourists and picked up a few translation books, Ghantt explains. Im a very deliberate person. They also bought a BMW Z3 with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 cigar store Indian. Some family members hid money in bank deposit boxes, other friends were asked to mule cash to the Cayman Islands. But before thehit could be carried out, the FBI swooped in and arrested Ghantt and the others. From the beginning, the FBIs prime suspect was David Ghantt. Or as he tells me, How many people in the United States havent thought about robbing a bank? It all went down in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the man at the center of that heist, David Scott Ghantt, now lives in Jacksonville. Until, that is, he decided to hell with it he was going to pull-off the second largest heist in U.S. history. The FBI investigation was aided by the gang's extravagant spending. WebPerry identified the other six people arrested as Steve and Michelle Chambers; Kelly Jane Campbell, a former Loomis employee; Michael L. McKinney; Thomas Nathan Grant; Except the person he offered $150,000 to mule $2.5 million down to Ghantt in Mexico turned him down and instead went to the FBI. All rights reserved. He left his wedding ring behind and spent his days spending money on luxury hotels and scuba diving. We spoke with the inside man, David Ghantt, to get the real story. And I said, Hey, man, I got this. 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. Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. Some of that money is just gone. But it was the rural, Southern backgrounds of many of the key players, along with the many botched twists and bungled turns, that led the media to dub it the hillbilly heist.. Todd Williamson/Getty ImagesDavid Ghantt attends the 2016 after party for the Hollywood premiere of Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo heist that he helped carry out. What are the principles on which our Constitution is based? Twenty-one people were charged and convicted in the robbery, one of the biggest heists in U.S. history. I told the lead investigator I was glad to see him.. I studied up on the FBI. Eventually, Ghantt called in from Mexico, seeking more money, and the FBI officially recognized Chambers as a co-conspirator. ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score, How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, Is the ACT easier than the SAT? Basically, he needed a score to make his problems go away. Who was the FBI agent in the movie Masterminds? Galifianakis is game for anything, including eating a dead tarantula (who knew tarantulas were filled with caramel syrup? You can garnish wages. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. He didnt even really question me. While the agents initiated their investigation, the Chambers spent money as quickly as they could. She later hired someone to kill Ghantt, though the murder never took place. Chambers and two accomplices, making their way to Vale in order to put the barrels in his home, left behind the staggering $3.3 million that didnt fit and the two security tapes in the Loomis Fargo van that Ghantt had driven. I mean, cause greed is a funny animal. 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. Chambers served 11 years before being released. 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. This robbery was the second-largest cash robbery on U.S. soil at the time, as only seven months earlier, on March 29, 1997 in Jacksonville, Florida, Phillip Noel Johnson stole $18.8 million from the Loomis Fargo armored vehicle he was driving.October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. 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. wydd radio pittsburgh; dumb military bases Where I was going was right there near the Cayman Islands. I threw you out, and then threw the parachute after you. They found Ghantts truck, and in it were his keys, some personal items and his wedding ring. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. The police then called the FBI because most of the money handled at the facility belonged to banks, which technically made it a bank robbery a federal offense.[5]. It was an open-and-shut case and all authorities had to do now was to find the culprit and identify Ghantts accomplices. I learned something that was valuable at the time: Most criminals never leave a 250, maybe 300-mile circle from their home base. They planned to kill a man named David Ghantt, the guy who had made their extravagant new lifestyle a reality. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. Their combined salaries were less than $42,000. Chambers and his wife Michele moved out of a trailer and into a luxury mansion in a nice neighborhood. Chambers wife, Michelle, bought a minivan in cash and began taking frequent trips to the bank to make deposits. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. He was also a former FBI informant who had tipped the bureau off to a planned robbery of a Loomis Fargo armored truck that never came to fruition. On his way out, he grabbed the surveillance video, hoping to cover his tracks. Back in North Carolina, Ghantts former accomplices were living high on the hog. 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. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images. He then proceeded to load about $17.3 million in cash (approximately $11 million of which was in $20 bills) into the back of a company van. Dont worry, its not drug money.. [1], This robbery was the second-largest cash robbery on U.S. soil at the time, as only seven months earlier, on March 29, 1997 in Jacksonville, Florida, Philip Noel Johnson stole $18.8 million from the Loomis Fargo armored vehicle he was driving.[2]. But after she left, she reached back out to Ghantt and brought up what theyd talked about that day in the break room. Twenty-five years ago, a small group of rural North Carolinian amateur bank robbers pulled off the second-largest heist in American history. Masterminds is a 2016 American comedy film based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo Robbery in North Carolina. When he finished, the van was filled with $17 million. The move bought him a little extra time to make his escape. In total, 24 people were convicted. The True Story of David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo Heist, Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Score, check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. And youre like, Come on parachute. Instead, the two started hanging out on the beach together and became friends. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. He also took various measures to change his appearance, such as shaving, after a patron at a restaurant pointed out to him that he "looked like the man who robbed a bank of $20 million. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. I really enjoyed the little scuba diving trip. It was nearly the perfect crime, but while Ghantt fled to Mexico to lay low, his partners lavish spendingand their own alleged plans for murderwould ultimately be the groups demise. We got to the end of the day, and he was acting like he wanted to linger. We got this guy named Bruno. David Ghantt, a Gulf War veteran, had never been in trouble with the law. According to Campbell, Chambers could help Ghantt execute a massive cash robbery of the vault at Loomis Fargo in one night. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. But because he still owes millions to the IRS, he couldnt be paid. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. Ridicule of those involved in what remains one of the largest cash thefts in U.S. history would soon begin. Hed be in contact. 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. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including a painting of Elvis Presley on black velvet. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. After his release, Ghantt took a job as a construction worker and was eventually brought on as a consultant for the 2016 movie Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo Heist. Its heavy. He had stayed in a luxury hotel and paid for expensive food and activities such as scuba diving and parasailing. WebFigure in Loomis Heist Gets Prison. He became the target of a nationwide FBI manhunt and was arrested five months later near the Mexican resort of Cozumel. A comedy film called Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo heist and starring Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, and Jason Sudeikis, was released in 2016. Then, keeping with the plan, Ghantt took $50,000 (the maximum that could by law be taken across the border without further authorization) with him and left for Mexico, winding up at the popular Yucatan Peninsula resort-island of Cozumel. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. According to local author David Aaron Moore, the plan went like this: Ghantt would go to work as normal, leave at the same time as the last employee and return to the vault, where he would load carts with bags of money before puttingthem into a van. I didnt even know about it and overlooked it, he said. But there was just one thing the group hadnt been counting on: the massive weight of that amount of cash. Campbell knew theyd need the help of the warehouses vault supervisor, who just happened to have a crush on her, and she called Ghantt to ask for his help. The other, suggested bythen-Observer reporter Jeff Diamant, says that Campbell created the plan with Steve Chambers,a drug dealer who was facing charges for writing $30,000 worth of bad checks, and later got Ghantt involved. And I knew that by that time, Id be in Cancun no matter what. ), and having explosive diarrhea in a public swimming pool (who knew Zach Galifianakis was filled with caramel syrup?). In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females. WebThis real-life . real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. He was released in 2006. The figures can be astounding. How to Market Your Business with Webinars? 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. Chambers got 11 years. Inside without a hiccup, he placedthe $17 million cash, in bags that altogether weighed more than 2,700 pounds, onto carts and into a van. Former Loomis Fargo employee people were ultimately also charged were several innocent relatives that the offers... Bases where I was going to pull-off the second largest heist in the midst of the day and... 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