So the original gang was all totally shocked, Wydra said. 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. In March 1997, after Loomis Fargo & Company has been robbed of $18.8 million in Jacksonville by company security guard Philip Noel Johnson, Steve Eugene Chambers and Kelly Campbell, a former employee of Loomis, decides to rob the company. Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing He'd already done enough, he realized, to get himself fired and arrested, even if the gate prevented him from moving the money outside the building. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. They could talk about anything, even topics he couldn't discuss with his wife. David placed their odds of success at 85 percent, a confidence inspired by faith not just in his planning but also in his feelings for Kelly. He and his wife, Michele, moved from theirmobile homeinLincoln Countyto a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section ofCramerton. From there, the money was moved from the armored car to private vehicles. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. "Everything's gonna be all right," she told him. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. He waffled on the heist idea three or four times from late August to mid-September. 1997 Loomis Fargo Robbery - Strange Unexplained Mysteries This technically made it abank robbery afederal offense. He also took various measures to change his appearance, such asshaving, after a patron at a restaurant pointed out to him that he looked like the man who robbed a bank of $20 million.. The FBI was inadvertently aided by the gang members extravagant spending. 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. Accompanying her was Steve Chambers, who, though unemployed, had recently moved . Not every agent has a case like that, he said. Then they returned it. Spunk. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. They assumed that whoever was involved would keep the cash in a safe place, like a safe deposit box. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Also charged with money laundering were innocent relatives and friends who had co-signed safe deposit boxes. Sun, sand and beaches are all part of why Jacksonville is a popular destination. He was a hard worker, smart enough, and had graduated from high school. CHARLOTTE If you didnt live in the Charlotte area 25 years ago, you might not believe it. 'Can I Keep the Velvet Elvis?': The Great Hillbilly Heist of 1997 Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. >> 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.. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. Breakdown by congressional district, States' push to define sex decried as erasing trans people, North Carolina Supreme Court hears felony voting rights case, North Carolina House GOP modifies rules on veto overrides, N. 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Carolina House GOP again modifies rules on veto overrides, Murdoch says some Fox hosts 'endorsed' false election claims, Havelock officials warn public about alligator near Walmart, Cape Carteret buys new utility vehicle to aid in picking up litter, New taxi, shuttle business seeks license to operate in Morehead City, Report: Navy ships face growing maintenance delays, costs, Fisheries division to survey for-hire watermen, National Enquirer, ensnared in catch-and-kill is sold. High around 65F. 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 unfairness gnawed at him, stirred by Kelly's questions. At 2:20 p.m., the phone rang; it was Kelly again. It has a certain feel, a smell and weight to it. But he wasn't finished. There was a book published in 2002 as well, by author Jeff Diamant called,Heist! Campbell and her husband had always been just scraping by, however in the weeks following the robbery, the two seemed to have more money than they've ever had. In this outrageously entertaining book, Jeff Diamant, the Charlotte Observer's lead reporter on the case, offers the definitive inside account of this astonishing. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. If a prank seemed dangerous, David backed out. A third surveillance tape was carelessly left behind, and the company was able to identify the man who robbed the vault as David Ghantt. But you cant get blood from a stone,, Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. He hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. He played high school football at Mays High School in Atlanta, and college football at Georgia Tech . TWO TO ENTER GUILTY PLEAS IN ARMORED-CAR ROBBERY - Greensboro News and Authorities were notified of the robbery in the morning, when employees couldnt open the vault. 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. More than 2 million dollars are still missing to this day. EDITORIAL: Computer Science misses the need for digital literacy, N. Carolina legislators announce Medicaid expansion deal, EDITORIAL: Fighting political forces that sever family ties, Special-use to get overhaul: Commissioners, planners take a look, Cape Carteret seeking new police chief one month after hiring New Bern resident for post, How many in North Carolina are awaiting student loan debt relief? If it didn't work out, he could return to the United States later with a new identity. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. I gotta go.". The Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later 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. Well she was a pretty happy-go-lucky person, he said. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. 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. Loomis Fargo defendants owe as much as they stole in 1997 For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. "Just remind Steve," he said, "that I might be trouble my own self." A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. But they'd stayed in touch, and now they were poised to attempt a crime like almost no other. 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 are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. You can seize property. He deserved better. The trainee didn't know to check to make sure it was closed. There are many robberies registered in the history of America, but the Loomis Fargo Robbery is known to be the second largest robbery in the United States. true story that has captivated American audiences on the news and now on the big screen in the major motion picture, Masterminds. The FBI became more suspicious after they interviewed Campbell for the third time. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. All but one took plea deals, including Ghantt, who was sentenced to seven years in prison. He angrily hung up the phone at Loomis, Fargo & Co., his soon-to-be former employer in Charlotte, North Carolina. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. 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. Updated: 11:31 AM EDT October 4, 2022 CHARLOTTE, N.C. Tuesday is the 25th anniversary of the infamous Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, where a bank worker, with the help of two accomplices,. Enforcement of this policy is at the Four-wheeling. The site features a collection of unexplained, strange and odd mysteries. A parrot tattoo on her right ankle. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later 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. Ghantt, in order to conserve this money, curtailed his spending. (LogOut/ I actually loved reading through this post. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. The inspiration behind the major motion picture Masterminds starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, and Jason Sudeikis! Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. The reason David didn't know Steve's last name was so they couldn't identify each other to the police or FBI, should cops or G-men ever enter the picture. Friends of Campbell had also begun spending large amounts of cash. 12) Loomis Fargo heist- The aftermath Ultimately, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo bank heist. David said he needed Kelly to drive to Loomis before the theft that night to remove a duffel bag from his parked pickup truck. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantts personal safety; they had learned of Chambersmurder for hirescheme. He quickly found out when you have money, you just have different problems, Wydra said. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. 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. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. Growing up, David had been a nice kid, a decent student who was at worst a minor troublemaker and prankster. And once he started, he didn't stop with one cartful. He loves his motorcycle and enjoys going fishing and, while hes sorry for the past, hes not ashamed to talk about it. And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. of violence, racism, anti-Semitism, or You can garnish wages.
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