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). Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. His collection case closes in two years. Of course, this would all be a radical departure for him, and thoughts of his wife and parents did give him pause. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. In Gastonia, David would run into high-school classmates who had never struck him as especially smart. Perry identified the other six people arrested as Steve and Michelle Chambers; Kelly Jane Campbell, a former Loomis employee; Michael L. McKinney; Thomas Nathan Grant; and Eric Haley Payne.. Available on Compatible NOOK Devices and the free NOOK Apps. But he wasn't finished. Feet Security Officer Bo Foot's Incident In Happy Town | ipl.org Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Hed never really been in trouble, he wasnt a career criminal, said retired FBI agent John Wydra. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. she asked. Except for the kiss in the pickup truck a few weeks before the heist, Kelly had kept things platonic. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. This website uses cookies and some data tracking to improve your experience and serve adverts, We assume you're ok with this, you can opt-out if you wish. Diamant, a journalist who reported on the case at the time, goes into meticulous detail on how the heist was pulled off and its aftermath. For the defendants in the Loomis Fargo heist, its allure was irresistible. - Jeffrey Guller, who at 81 is by far the oldest of the Loomis defendants, still owes almost $1.1 million on his original court debt of $1.14 million and will remain on the governments books for another four years. Curiously, Payne had recently paid of his Visa in one payment and had been driving around new and rented vehicles for the past weeks. The unsolved mystery of the Van Meter Visitor a winged creature! He had stayed in a luxury hotel and paid for expensive food and activities such asscuba divingandparasailing. I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. Authorities were notified of the robbery in the morning, when employees couldnt open the vault. 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. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. For example, Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. Spunk. 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. They swept the surrounding counties, locating Kelly Campbell and Eric Payne in their homes. Have a youtube channel or website similar? 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. 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. Worlds Biggest Heists London Hatton Garden 200m Diamond Robbery, Easter 2015. David and Kelly had driven to Rock Hill, South Carolina, and used the documents to obtain a fake ID that David would also rely on after the theft. Ghantt reported to Chambers that his supply of money was running low, but Chambers sent Ghantt just $8,000. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist - molecularrecipes.com What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]. just generally being a jerk. What it does is put a ball and chain on that person for the rest of their lives, they are walking around and they are basically an indentured servant, Gronquist said. Heist!: The $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft - amazon.com : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft . Agents raided safe deposit boxes, where they recovered more than $11 million. So he and some friends decided at the end of his Oct. 4 shift he would load a company van with more than 2,000 pounds of cash and just drive away. Its in the ether. The case had gotten national publicity and was the subject of numerous articles, documentaries and even a movie. Its like, me and you sat down, I have access to pie, you like pie, all I want is my share of the pie. TWO TO ENTER GUILTY PLEAS IN ARMORED-CAR ROBBERY - Greensboro News and Their only intimate physical contact had been kissing on a mid-September night when they had driven her pickup truck to a field behind a shooting range in Gaston County to discuss their plans and the theft's chance of success. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. That way, outsiders couldn't see money being loaded. 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. The plan was still on, but David remained steamed. 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. VERDICT The first edition of this work was published in 2002. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. Loomis Fargo defendants owe as much as they stole in 1997 There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. 6-Year Sentence For Kelly Campbell | The Seattle Times Theres no way to get it back,, And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. They knew Steve Chambers had worked as an informant in the past, and were nervous he would smell out an undercover. I ride motorcycles and fish -- normal guy, Ghantt told Counts. In his youth, his mother had taken him to Sears and JCPenney, but as a man he shopped at Walmart, and while he knew there was nothing wrong with that, he wished he could afford more. How Did David Ghantt, Kelly Campbell, Steve Chambers Steal More Than In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. He played high school football at Mays High School in Atlanta, and college football at Georgia Tech . Loomis Fargo employees could not open the vault the next morning, and called the police. The investigation ultimately resulted in the conviction of eight people directly involved, as well as sixteen others who had indirectly helped them. In the end, the FBI was able to capture the original gang in five months, snaring 21 individuals for their participation in the crime. The real 'Masterminds' Over the next two weeks, David thought about it. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. 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. 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. Now and again I run into blog posts that tends to make me want to get started on bloggin myself. David got a kick out of her. In this outrageously entertaining book, Jeff Diamant, the Charlotte Observer's lead reporter on the case, offers the definitive inside account of this astonishing. Kelly Campbell, who one day visited a Toyota dealership to purchase a minivan with twenty-dollar bills. 1997 Loomis Fargo Robbery - Strange Unexplained Mysteries Well they were in some sense celebrities, Gronquist said. He allegedly hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. "I don't have time to mess with you. David was supposed to be showing him the ropes of the job, which included cash pickups and deliveries. We dont have the manpower to track all that (restitution) money down I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. Some of that money is just gone. The hillbilly outfit did more that just drop a few breadcrumbs. Then one day, while reviewing his and Tammy's credit card bill, he did some quick math and realized that even if they met the minimum monthly payments, the bill would take thirty years to pay. For people earning $8.15 an hour David's salary the jokes came naturally. Lacking a college degree, he found that his army skills felt meaningless in the 1990s job market. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. This month marked 25 years since one of the biggest armored car heists in U.S. history. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. '. FBI video shows agents searching the Cramer Mountain home and finding stacks of cash. The van used to move the money was later located a few miles from the warehouse. 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. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all., WSOC TV facebook feed(Opens a new window), Part 2: Channel 9 speaks with the man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago, ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east Charlotte, mom says, ALSO READ: Leader of $3M check theft, bank fraud scheme in Charlotte area sentenced to prison, ALSO READ: Man released from jail, accused of robbing banks while wearing electronic monitor, police say, ALSO READ: Suspect from south Charlotte bank robbery found, CMPD says, NCSHP arrest driver accused of nearly hitting 2 students at bus stop in Statesville, CMS delays opening of new school meant to ease overcrowding, Mooresville orders removal of memorial at park after teens death, Chick-fil-A announces app data breach, tells customers how to protect personal information, Charlotte woman celebrates $1 million scratch-off prize, WSOC - TV Public File Contact / Program Director, WAXN - TV Public File Contact / Program Director. 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. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. The FBI was inadvertently aided by the gang members extravagant spending. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. 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. Thank you! This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft [Jeff Diamant] on Amazon.com. But being the vault supervisor at Loomis Fargo had one perk -- exposure to tons of cash. The plan to. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. In Campbells case, Gronquist says his client was buried in court-ordered debt despite the fact that she took responsibility for what she had done and cooperated with prosecutors and the FBI. 'When you have money, you just have different problems': The Loomis Most people are going to forgive you. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. This technically made it abank robbery afederal offense. The plan was for Ghantt to commit the actual robbery and then quickly leave the country forMexico but to leave the bulk of the cash with Chambers. Ms. Campbell worked at Loomis for 11 months, leaving in November 1996, according to court papers. 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. "Do you know how much there's gonna be?" Hes a family man with a wife and daughter. La vie de David Ghantt n'a rien de compliqu. 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. The only other employee with him on this day was a trainee. Tuesday marked 25 years since a group of buddies pulled off the third-largest money grab in U.S. history -- the Loomis Fargo heist. 'Masterminds' Review: Loomis Fargo Robbery Where Are They Now? - Pajiba And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. Another time, the day after a Christmas in the late 1980s, David and some friends planted all the discarded Christmas trees from the area in one neighbor's front yard. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy aToyota Siennaminivanin two cash installments. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. The unfairness gnawed at him, stirred by Kelly's questions. 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. Its in the ether. 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. Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. 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. 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. The world is full of unexplained events, strange mysteries, and mysterious legends. While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. They also found several stacks of money with Loomis bands still attached throughout all the homes searched. Ghantt met up with the other members of the plot and offloaded the cash. All but one of the 24 defendants pleaded guilty, and the one who didnt take the deal was convicted. How did they get away with stealing more than $17 million? Discover the truth behind unexplained ancient mysteries, UFO mysteries, secret locations and paranormal events. Investigators also found Ghantts pickup truck, abandoned at the warehouse. Discover some of the worlds strangest ancient places. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. She had attitude. David's share would be sent to Mexico, where he planned to hide and where he expected Kelly to join him. FBI agents recall surreal story of heist that inspired - WLOS I actually loved reading through this post. 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. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.'. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a trailer and upgraded to what would today be a multi-million-dollar mansion at Cramer Mountain. The strange story of Mary Reeser Spontaneous Human Combustion. Ghantt had fled to Mexico with $50,000 in cash, leaving the rest of the money with Steve Chambers. Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. In 1994, they moved to Gastonia, North Carolina, where they had grown up, and David took a job driving a forklift. He hated his job and his bosses, he'd lost hope in his marriage, he wasn't going to advance at Loomis, and he couldn't afford to quit to enroll in college. So the original gang was all totally shocked, Wydra said. You can garnish wages. 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. The affidavit described Chambers as a former FBI informant who had provided information on another Loomis armored car robbery that never materialized. The bag held his mobile phone and handgun. Her case closes in 2025. Then, keeping with the plan, Ghantt took $50,000 (the maximum that could be taken across the border by law without further authorization) with him and left for Mexico, winding up at the popularYucatan Peninsularesort ofCozumel. Learning from this error, David planned to leave the stolen money behind with his coconspirators while he fled to Mexico. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. The real story behind the second largest bank heist in history, which As an adult, he preferred Shakespeare, Tom Clancy, and any book he could find about the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 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.. They assumed that whoever was involved would keep the cash in a safe place, like a safe deposit box. In all, they recovered $6.6 million. 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. After discussing his job, his marriage, and his everyday struggles, they joked about Loomis and about how easy it would be to steal from the place. He is a graduate of Yale and has worked for the Connecticut Post, the Associated Press, and the Palm Beach Post. "About fourteen or fifteen million dollars," he said. It wasn't how much you stole that mattered most; it was that you had stolen in the first place. of violence, racism, anti-Semitism, or According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. They had initially agreed to control their spending for a year or two, in the belief that the government would vigorously track the spending habits of any and all suspects for at least a year before relenting. He had since served time in prison for the crime and told our sister station WSOC-TV Channel 9s Glenn Counts he learned a valuable lesson while behind bars. she asked again. Current price is $11.49, Original price is $14.99. He angrily hung up the phone at Loomis, Fargo & Co., his soon-to-be former employer in Charlotte, North Carolina. "I'm busy," he said. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. Probably very egotistical of me, I thought, Yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. The Loomis Fargo Heist Over the next months, Ghantt, Campbell, and Chambers developed a plan. David was thin six-foot-one, one hundred sixty-five pounds and heaving the stacks onto the cart, pushing the cart toward the vault door, and then emptying its contents into the van was exhausting. The inspiration behind the major motion picture Masterminds starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, and Jason Sudeikis! FBI video shows the agency searching that home and finding drawers full of cash. 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. How he felt shorted by life. 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. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. You should definitely start your own blog, I highly recommend it. Sun, sand and beaches are all part of why Jacksonville is a popular destination. I made a joke once that was the hardest Id ever worked for Wells Fargo -- yeah, its a lot of work, Ghantt said. "But you can still have a cigarette.". It's been 20 years since the Loomis Fargo heist. - Charlotte Observer Seven Charged In $17M Heist - CBS News 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. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. 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. them. I appreciate your kind words! Not every agent has a case like that, he said. David knew this was important from having followed the recent news about a Florida man who had brazenly committed the biggest heist from an armored-car company in United States history, a loner named Philip Noel Johnson, who also had worked for Loomis. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. Instead he became paranoid, especially after Steve Chambers put a contract out on his life. The True Story of David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo Heist - PrepScholar Also charged with money laundering were innocent relatives and friends who had co-signed safe deposit boxes. Though much of the cash was already stacked on pushcarts in the vault, other stacks were on shelves or the floor, and they were heavy. shaka wear graphic tees is candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of ted lawson real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist 25 Feb/23 (No Ratings Yet) Kelly Campbell - Wikipedia Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars worth of temptation. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. But what the bank didnt tell Michelle, and Michelle didnt know, was that one of those forms get filled out if you ask about it, or if its close to $10,000 or if they suspect that any part of that transaction is suspicious, Wydra said. CHARLOTTE If you didnt live in the Charlotte area 25 years ago, you might not believe it. So they went to Mexico and arrested Ghantt in order to protect him. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. Booklist "Librariesshould consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel." Steve had hired a bodyguard named Mike McKinney. The unsolved crime mystery of Marilyn Sheppard. Moving the money into the van quickly proved an onerous task.
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