loomis fargo heist kelly campbell

And if that gives people out there a little bit of hope, then Ive served my purpose on this earth.. 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. He deserved better. It should have been easy, but for some reason the gate didn't open for him. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. Prosecutors say a vault. Holding her hands behind her back, Michele Chambers was sentenced Tuesday to seven years and eight months in prison for her role in the $17 million heist from Loomis, Fargo & Co. She was also. CHARLOTTE If you didnt live in the Charlotte area 25 years ago, you might not believe it. In 1994, they moved to Gastonia, North Carolina, where they had grown up, and David took a job driving a forklift. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. 2023 Cox Media Group. 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. ", "I don't need any more friends," she'd shot back. In addition to their extravagant spending, Michelle Chambers made the mistake of loudly asking a bank teller how much cash she could deposit in her account without it being reported to the feds, and then said, its not drug money.. 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. Then, he proceeded to load 2,800 pounds of cash into a van. : The $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft. That way, outsiders couldn't see money being loaded. Unexplained Mysteries - owned by Aliens since 2011. One number is working in Campbells favor. First, they tapped the Chambers phone, and began listening in on February 11th, 1998. How he and his wife had trouble communicating. And they could barely afford the minimum payments, given the power bills, phone bills, car insurance bills, and home payments they had to meet. "I'm busy," he said. The money weighed as much as a compact car and he did it all by himself. He added that he would be able to send the trainee home at about 6:00 p.m. and would then need about an hour to load the money from carts, shelves, and the floor into a Loomis company van. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. You Save 23%. Growing up, David's family went to Disney World, sent him to religious school, and shopped at places he couldn't afford as a self-supporting adult. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats 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. If we can sit on the money for a year, maybe two, it could work.". Ghantt was working as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte in 1997, earning about $8 an hour and tired of his humdrum life. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. 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. A former FBI agent who helped crack the case sat down with Channel 9 Reporter Glenn Counts to talk about the clues that led to solving the crime, and how the group got caught. The plan was to exit through the building's electronic back gate, which consisted of horizontal metal plates that opened at the touch of a button. In Gastonia, David would run into high-school classmates who had never struck him as especially smart. David told Kelly they would have to control themselves and not spend the money too quickly, because the FBI could electronically trace a suspect's recent spending activity through bank papers, credit card records, and land transactions. In the parking lot, David sat in his pickup truck smoking a cigarette and waving good-bye as the trainee drove home. Since then, there have been numerous articles, books, documentaries and even a movie about this gang -- the gang that couldnt shoot straight. Ms. Campbell worked at Loomis for 11 months, leaving in November 1996, according to court papers. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ). His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. Enforcement of this policy is at the The Loomis Fargo Heist Over the next months, Ghantt, Campbell, and Chambers developed a plan. Sure enough, she called a few days later, around September 16. The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.'. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. And after two years, the case is just a file. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Remember why you were elected! By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantts personal safety; they had learned of Chambersmurder for hirescheme. About the worst he had done as a teenager was stealing a construction company's Porta-Jon with a friend, tying it to the back of a pickup truck, and driving around for about fifteen minutes. ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east. "Don't back out on us. Steve was a serious guy? Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. Though Wydra is retired, 25 years ago, he was an agent with the FBI. The FBI became more suspicious after they interviewed Campbell for the third time. Some of that money is just gone. One night in a small North Carolina town, a down-on-his-luck guard at Loomis Fargo manages to steal $17 millionliterally more than one ton of cash. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. Jeff Diamant was a reporter for the Charlotte Observer when the heist took place. She sounded incredulous. 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 had to be extremely careful not to tip off the group, as they could lose potential conspirators or more information important to a conviction. By this time, agents knew where he was and had a general idea who the other players were, so they went to every bank in town to see if any of them rented a safe deposit box. I appreciate your kind words! >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct.. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. Then they returned it. Inside $3.3 million was located along with the two stolen surveillance tapes, apparently left due to the robber and his accomplices being sloppy, or in a hurry. He realized his bosses would know he had worked that day and that he was missing, but maybe without a video they would think he'd been held at gunpoint and taken hostage, or even better, that he'd been killed. Once they were in custody, the overwhelming task of clearing out possessions possibly purchased with the stolen money began. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. We are happy to work with other website publishers. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer and advised the others not to spend the money lavishly. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. It just happened to fall on my desk.. And once he started, he didn't stop with one cartful. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars worth of temptation. He put on his best pair of jeans, a button-down shirt, and his nicest cowboy boots. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. While Ghantt waited for the heat from the robbery to die down, Chambers would send Ghantt small amounts of money. The next day, before Mike was able to leave the country, the FBI arrested him in his hotel room. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. How he felt shorted by life. All but one of the 24 defendants pleaded guilty, and the one who didnt take the deal was convicted. Campbell, a former Loomis employee and one of the original masterminds of the caper, has paid off less than $21,000 of the $4,701,694.18 she was docked. Its in the ether. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. The unsolved mystery of the Van Meter Visitor a winged creature! Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy aToyota Siennaminivanin two cash installments. Investigators also found Ghantts pickup truck, abandoned at the warehouse. Yet their lives seemed far easier and better than his. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Steve Chambers would keep the rest. Jim Gronquist was Campbells defense attorney. They located Steve and Shelley Chambers in their newly-purchased home at the top of a hill. They involve Loomis armored car driver David Scott Ghantt. Its attracted workers like Ghantt. Accompanying her was Steve Chambers, who, though unemployed, had recently moved . Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. You should definitely start your own blog, I highly recommend it. Heist! You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. From my standpoint, it was just a business deal, Ghantt said. Her case closes in 2025. 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. 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. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. 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. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. But things didnt quite work out that way. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. A few of the Loomis restitution cases have already been closed either because the amount was paid in full or because the 20-year clock wound down. The 2016 comedy movie, Masterminds is based on the story of the Loomis Fargo Heist. Their most important conversation occurred one afternoon in August 1997 after Kelly paged him at work. Of course, this would all be a radical departure for him, and thoughts of his wife and parents did give him pause. In order to receive more evidence, the FBI decided to listen. They had met in December 1995 on one of her first days at Loomis. 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. Well they were in some sense celebrities, Gronquist said. David got a kick out of her. just generally being a jerk. That movie, Masterminds, was filmed in 2014. I gotta go.". A customs inspector, asking routine questions of bus passengers, focused her attention on him when his answers reminded her of Tommy Flanagan, the pathological-liar character played by Jon Lovitz on Saturday Night Live. Change). Thirty years! The Chambers home is now gated, which means Channel 9 crews cant drive up to it like we used to. A connection between each suspect began to emerge slowly, and as the intensity of spending grew, suspicion did as well. Steve began talking about wiring money to overseas accounts, and even purchasing a nightclub. The case had gotten national publicity and was the subject of numerous articles, documentaries and even a movie. But this time on the phone, Kelly wasn't joking. "I don't have time to mess with you. Afterward, everything became comical. Aprs de nombreux seconds rles comiques au cinma, elle parvient percer en co-crivant et tenant le rle principal de la David and Steve had never met, but Steve had already secured somebody else's birth certificate and social security card for him and given it to Kelly to pass along. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. It all seemed unfair. Nathan, Steves cousin, was found in a mobile home the Chambers had abandoned. 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. They assumed that whoever was involved would keep the cash in a safe place, like a safe deposit box. Its in the ether. Friends of Campbell had also begun spending large amounts of cash. For the defendants in the Loomis Fargo heist, its allure was irresistible. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. All of the defendants are out of prison -- the longest sentence was 11 years. He hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. The only other employee with him on this day was a trainee. Outside of the building, Ghantt met up with Campbell, Chambers, and others who were involved in the plot, and drove off to a printing business called Reynolds & Reynolds in northwest Charlotte. So its one thing to go from up here, thought, to action, he said. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft . The participants in the heist also spent lavishly on fancy jewelry, fancy cars and breast enhancement surgeries. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. 2023 Cox Media Group. Former FBI agent John Wydra, who helped crack the case, sat down with Channel 9 Reporter Glenn Counts to talk about the clues that led to solving the crime, and how the group got caught. David and the trainee left the warehouse. The old man me would never survive that, Id have a heart attack.. He loves his motorcycle and enjoys going fishing and, while hes sorry for the past, hes not ashamed to talk about it. 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. Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing Was the temptation too much? 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. His collection case closes in two years. Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. To visit friends.". The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. They succeeded in removing $17 million from the safe. The $17 million was stolen last Oct. 4 from the armored-car company's vault in Charlotte. He knew they were nervous outside waiting for him, but he also knew he wouldn't stop stealing until he had taken everything. 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. 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. He could even be famous, perhaps joining the ranks of legendary master thieves. Just after the last employees left that day, surveillance footage shows a man enter the vault, and begin to load more than 2,740 pounds in cash into a nearby van, totaling around over $17 million. There was no reason to leave anything, he felt. Ghantt, who by then was long out of prison, served as a consultant. He had stayed in a luxury hotel and paid for expensive food and activities such asscuba divingandparasailing. For example, Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. 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. sole discretion of the site administrators and repeat offenders may To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]. CHARLOTTE (AP) During one overnight shift, a bumbling conspiracy of thieves just west of Charlotte stole more than $17 million from Loomis Fargo. The strange story of Mary Reeser Spontaneous Human Combustion. Oh were not going to talk to anybody, theyre not going to be able to convict us, that bravado happens in the beginning and then it often gets worn down by the reality, Gronquist said. "Are you serious?" Charlotte Observer"more than a crime story, and one that's worth reading." They hadn't slept together or even fooled around much, but he was ready to commit. 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. We went on a mission to calculate exactly how much size-wise the money was, $11.3 million in $20 bills, and it weighed over 2,000 pounds, former FBI agent John Wydra said. This technically made it abank robbery afederal offense. "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. " The gang made numerous mistakes. There was a book published in 2002 as well, by author Jeff Diamant called,Heist! David Scott Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. As it neared its end, David stealthily left the vault door ajar. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. 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). The Charlotte area's economy was booming all around him, and he felt passed over. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Clear skies. Even with several vehicles, they underestimated how much space they would need and they had to leave $3 million behind. The supervisor liked him and gave him the job. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. university of michigan sorority recruitment, sohrab slingshot quote,

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