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Ghantt, meanwhile, was losing his patience and starting to make threats. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. We spoke to the FBI agents who investigated the case who say the real-life. In real life: False. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. It was one of those things everyone (at Loomis Fargo) joked about, but in time, it became serious. 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. She asked about the limit for a cash deposit before "paperwork" was required. There, Scott and Eric paced the floor as Steve tried to calm them down. "Steve said, 'I think we ought to do it that night, when he drops off the van,' " Kelly recalled. It wasn't known whether anyone would receive it. Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. 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. Kelly was lying. Michele told her mother she and Steve had been saving gambling winnings for the down payment. But I thought this is me being hard-headed Im going to ride this thing to the ground. And so thats what I did.. David Ghantt, who pulled off the Loomis, Fargo & Co. vault robbery in 1997 and was sentenced to seven years in prison for the crime, served as a consultant for the film (in theaters Friday). Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. To 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 goods, to lead the team. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. The plan called for David to leave the vault door ajar, then maneuver a few minutes alone at the end of his shift, long enough to loot the cash, then pass it to Kelly and Steve. Called Masterminds, the 2016 film stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. How Bridgerton restarted buzz about her ancestry. Some days, the robbery seems like a memory from a different life, a choice made by a different man. I had to go in there and tell her the whole story, and she was real cool about it. kellis@gastongazette.com 0:04 0:57 On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. "I was trying to figure out a way to [leave my husband] and take care of my kids without having to depend on him or any other man," Kelly said. The platform is designed to engage citizens and government leaders in a discussion about what needs improvement across the country. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. October was "a blast," he said. "But I had to know.". It didnt take the local police long to put the pieces together. Kelly, using David's cell phone, kept beeping him. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. Ghantt:It baffles me to this day. Question: Do you ever think you could have been killed? Things started to go south the night of the robbery. That week, the FBI designated the theft its 142nd "major case," putting it on a list--begun in the 1970s--that includes such other infamous crimes as the World Trade Center bombing. 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,. They sweated, though the night was cool. Military + Veterans. He's a very likable person. There was a third person with them, too, a man named Eric Grant. When he finished, the van was filled with $17 million. And youre like, Come on parachute. David told her he'd need help moving the money, getting a new ID and leaving the country. Going south, nobody really looks at what youre shipping. On October 5, 1997, FBI agents gathered at the Loomis, Fargo & Co. warehouse in Charlotte, North Carolina, to watch a security videotape of a man loading stacks of cash into a pushcart and wheeling them from the vault. But what did that mean? Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. Actor Owen Wilson plays him in the movie, which includes the real names of all the major players. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. If they could just sit on the money until then, he said, they'd be fine. While the agents initiated their investigation, the Chambers spent money as quickly as they could. You see, there's a reason Loomis Fargo used armored cars to move large amounts of cash. So he got in a cab and went to a mall. FBI agents recall surreal story of heist that inspired - WLOS These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. They also left behind a life-changing fortune in small bills $3.3 million in fives and ones that they overlooked and the two videotapes that Ghantt had pulled from the security cameras at the bank. By March, Steve Chambers decided he needed to do something more drastic about Ghantt, making plans to send a hitman to Mexico to silence him for good. 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. Man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago now a 'normal guy real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. Channel 9 speaks with the man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 He was an old friend from East Gaston High School, tough and sure of himself. At the Halloween party, though, Kelly gave in to Steve, and agreed it had to be done. I can take it.". Steve, who had sworn Kelly, Eric and Scott to secrecy the night of the theft, named them all to the FBI. "You" has three. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. You've violated that trust. From Mexico, David usually spoke with Kelly on the phone once a week, paying with calling cards. He'd stay up all night, boosted by coffee, waiting for the sunrise over the ocean. Copyright 2022 TheAssociated Press. The FBI, in fact, obtained the evidence they needed to bring down the major players, including Chambers, after catching them talking about the murder plot on the telephone via wiretap. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. Ghantt simply got ready for work one morning knowing it would be his last day on the job. I missed my wife. Its really just a matter of timing, more than anything. And she says, How much do you think wed get out of there? I said, Ten to 15 million. But I didnt really know.. I just had to call you., Today, Ghantt cant look back on the whole ordeal without some degree of pride. Kelly called David at Loomis; he told her he'd be ready for them with the cash at 6:30 or 7 p.m. Alone in the building, David was trying to finish loading cash from the vault into an unmarked white Ford Econoline van belonging to Loomis. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. Steve and Michele invited everyone back for a Christmas party, where they gave Michele's stepfather a special gift--the pickup truck he'd always wanted. They didn't know it, but they were leaving $3.3 million behind. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Agents began picking up signs that David definitely had help: The abandoned Loomis van with $3.3 million in small bills still inside, and phone records showing that somebody beeped him while he stole the money, using David's own cell phone. Question: Are you surprised that Hollywood took this on as a movie? They discussed it further, and Campbell asked him when they should do it. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. As he and Kelly met in a field behind a shooting range to refine the plan, she allowed him to believe she was falling for him. Steven Chambers [Misc. In the first days after the arrests, agents recovered or accounted for all but about $2 million of the stolen money. David said he realized then, for the first time, he might not see the millions he thought he had coming to him. He told him McKinney was in Mexico to kill somebody. "We had David Ghantt and Kelly Campbell tied together, and we had Steven Chambers and Eric Payne with unexplained wealth, but we didn't have a tie between them," Agent John Wydra said. Theres some things I want to do., Ghantt planned on traveling from Mexico to the Cayman Islands, bypassing customs along the way. . Ghantt:I've burned that bridge years ago. Ghantt:I've always known that story had potential to be a comedy or a drama. 'Can I Keep the Velvet Elvis?': The Great Hillbilly Heist of 1997 I hit the local library the thing that we used to do before Google, Ghantt says with a small laugh. That was the most painful truth to come to. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. An officer rang the doorbell. Besides her prison sentence . They obviously werent trying to get it right they were putting together what they believe is a better story, said Diamant. ", "I said, 'If you drive a truck, you're always in a financial bind. Too stupid to be true? Five 'Masterminds' missteps that actually happened A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. They decorated their 6,000-square-foot stucco house with antiques, paintings and statues, including a six-foot wooden Indian that Michele had bought for $600. 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. I knew that the news wouldnt break until later that morning. You might as well go all the way now.". Instead of lobster, the man who stole $17 million survived on home-cooked pasta and grilled cheese sandwiches. "It probably should bother me," he said. We got to the end of the day, and he was acting like he wanted to linger. But after a year, they'll cut it down to two agents. "I felt that if I didn't do something, I was going to snap," David said. She declined to take a lie-detector test. Now that Kelly believes she has found Jesus, she has become more analytical about her past. Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. . So much so that one suspicious neighbor called the FBI. He figured Tammy wouldn't go for it, and though his marriage had been troubled, he wasn't certain he wanted to leave her. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. 25th anniversary of the incredible Loomis Fargo bank heist | wcnc.com I would call us friends. Kelly told the FBI she had done drugs with David but denied knowing about the theft. Still, she wasn't happy. It will be some time before she can commune with domestic animals again. Im on the phone with Kelly [Campbell], and Im like, Hey, I really was expecting a package to arrive. I wanted to get as far away as I could. She just called me up on the phone and said, Hey, lets meet one day after work. And then, we were talking and she says, How do you feel about robbing Loomis Fargo? Ghantt tells me. Thats where they feel comfortable., This piece of information would become critical to his getaway plan. Few who were living in the area at the time can forget the "Velvet Elvis" painting Chambers had hanging in his mansion or the tales of cosmetic surgery, BMW convertibles and other signs of excess. The next day, he was sitting next to FBI agent Mark Rozzi on a US Airways flight to Charlotte. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. Hes well thought-out. The Unexpectedly Sweet Story Behind Those Viral Semi-Truck Pregnancy Photos. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. I didnt pick the heist team. Together, they drove in a convoy to an industrial warehouse eight miles away, where Eric Payne, a fourth accomplice was. Now he offered to pay him to carry cash to David--Steve said he was a friend hiding out after a bad drug deal, McKinney recalled. . Things were spiraling fast. The figures can be astounding. Ghantt:It's a comedy. But he tried to keep his face averted, so David wouldn't be able to ID him. ", "I wouldn't do it. What concerned her was the chance of getting caught. So yeah, Im kind of proud of it.. The Columbia airport had no available flights. "We kept going, '1-4-3, 1-4-3,' " recalled Vic O'Korn, assistant special agent in charge of Charlotte's FBI office. "I wanted to be more like my mom and dad were.". . I just want people to go to the movies and have a good laugh, even if it's at my expense. It's about the 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery also known as the "hillbillly heist" the second largest cash robbery in the history of the United States. As it turned out, Ghantt was zipping up his scuba suit in Mexico. On Nov. 12, a confidential informant told the FBI about Steve Chambers's move from mobile home to mansion. The cart held about $2 million, and the thief made multiple trips. Job Search - Career Portal - Dayforce HCM Question: Should people go see this movie? You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. Just under $14 million sat in an outbuilding behind his home, inside blue steel barrels. 1997 Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle for sale at auction of items bought after Loomis, Fargo armored car facility heist by Steven Chambers, wife Michele, Kelly Jane Campbell & David Scott Ghanntt (Photo by Will And Deni McIntyre/Getty Images) I mean, cause greed is a funny animal. It wasnt a big hit, but Ghantt, who was played by Galifianakis, gives it a rave review. But as soon as he drove off, I went right back in and opened the vault. A couple weeks pass, and I call again, Hey, Id like to get some more money. Was that really what it was about? Ghantt went on to explain that he left for his flight to Mexico with about $25,000, and that two or three deliveries of extra money was made to him by the man Chambers would pay to kill him. Once I start something, Im going to the end., As for how he felt in the moment, he says, Imagine me and you went on an airplane. Kelly called David at. 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. A week later, another informant told the FBI that Eric Payne had quit his job at a printing company soon after the heist and was spending money he probably hadn't earned legally. . He hated the sweet smell of the green ink, and the $8.15-an-hour salary. David, now 30, says he's sorry he abandoned his wife--who he says still loves him--and his family. About 200 keys dangled from it. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it," Ghantt said. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. From going fishing to riding horses on the beach the whole nine yards. Her case closes in 2025. He couldn't talk.". Zaron Burnett is an investigative journalist and longform features writer based in Los Angeles. "But, I hate to admit it, it doesn't faze me one bit. Back then, it was one of the hotspots for hiding money. Ghantt planned to live off the interest for the rest of his life. Ghantt spent a solid hour moving what ended up being 2,700 pounds of cash more than an actual ton into an unmarked company van. In real life: True. Then another. He played high school football at Mays High School in Atlanta, and college football at Georgia Tech . 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. It was an ear-biting, Pierce Brosnan-loving, comet-obsessed world, and were here to relive every minute of it. Then another. Michele tells me you're in a financial bind. . 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. Fact check: Is there much truth to the new 'Masterminds' movie? Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. With the help of Aldo, a Mexican waiter he had befriended, David found a beach apartment in Cancun. Yes, happy. And robbing a truck was dangerous. Alert: Obviously, spoilers abound. Nah, it was always about the money, he told the agents. Our success depends on our team members, and that's why it's important for us to offer an employee benefits program that is not only extremely comprehensive but also one of the best in the industry. Truth be told, Ghantt had something of a crush on Campbell, and so, he told her exactly how hed pull off such a heist. That was pretty awesome., It felt like a dream vacation until he started running out of money. What made her do it? ];Kelly Jane Campbell [Misc. And so, he told her, Google my name. For his part, Ghantt was now officially on his way to Mexico, his future stretched out before him. It changes you. Ghantt:I hate to say it, but I had six years of sitting in a box to think about my life. "I thought he was goofing around.". Figure in Loomis Heist Gets Prison | AP News Kelly Jane Campbell, a former Loomis employee; Michael L. McKinney . I knew it was just a matter of time. They entered their dogs in fights and watched them die. The theft at the time the second-largest cash robbery in U.S. history has been the brunt of mocking movies and books, mostly on how the thieves, who had little money to begin with, could not control their spending habits once they did. Thats one of my personality flaws. They heard Michele brag about her $43,000 ring. Working together, they got the gate open, then drove in a caravan to the Reynolds & Reynolds parking lot. Its a yes: Clover teen shakes off nerves to earn American Idol golden ticket, Mail carrier cant believe his eyes after seeing NC lottery win. They cursed. For her part, Kelly Campbell spent six years in federal prison. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward after the theft. Meanwhile, Steve was keeping a close eye on Kelly. He appeared happily matched with his high-spirited wife, Michele, and the two children from her first marriage. He wouldn't give me the opportunity to say anything else. . 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. Posted on . Sweat soaked David's uniform. "She said, 'What would it take to convince you to do it?' "I've moved on with my life," he said Tuesday. 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.. 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. The bash had a Cinderella theme, with a three-tiered cake that looked like a castle. Ghantt started at Loomis Fargo in 1994, and soon worked his way up from an armored car driver to a vault supervisor. The next day, Kelly drove back to Steve's mobile home to watch the news with Steve and Michele. Inside the Mazda, Steve told Scott Grant to get out and help David. Ghantt:It's kid-friendly, it's family-friendly (the movie is rated PG-13). "I said, 'I don't want him killed.' The barrels were Steves idea, Ghantt says. When McKinney realized Ghantt was wanted for the Loomis Fargo robbery, he backed off personally because he didnt want to be anywhere near a federal investigation. I've got a good woman.". "I missed my family. She was devastated, Diamant said. By the time the month concluded, the couple had purchased a 7,000-square-foot stone mansion in a gated country club community. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. There was in fact a basically similar conversation involving Chambers and Campbell that took place during a barbecue the Campbells were hosting. SEVEN NABBED IN CHARLOTTE HEIST\ - Greensboro News and Record Ghantt didn't actually meet Chambers until the night of the heist, though, according to Diamant, who would go on to write a book about it.The . 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. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. He had stolen $17 million from Loomis Fargo. Her marriage--at which she was making another ambivalent effort after multiple separations--and even the jobs she'd been able to get with a diploma couldn't come close to providing the kind of life she dreamed about, the life she felt she deserved: a house in the country, a swimming pool, and enough cash so she didn't need to rely on men. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. Twelve hours later, at 6 that evening, Eric Payne drove a rented Budget van to his workplace, a graphics company on Performance Road in western Mecklenburg County called Reynolds & Reynolds, which was closed for the night and had a secluded parking lot where they intended to transfer the cash. It wouldn't work, Kelly told him. The FBI now knew Chambers had Loomis cash. Kelly said she had reason to believe Steve might be able to pull off a heist. As soon as you put that first bag of stolen money in that van, theres no going back. She could walk under the trees, with the chickens and goats and dogs that live around her mobile home. This story was originally published October 3, 2016, 9:12 PM. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. TWO TO ENTER GUILTY PLEAS IN ARMORED-CAR ROBBERY - Greensboro News and Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. Explain? Yes, Carrie Underwood adopted a dog in Charlotte. One thing about teammates, in David's view: You could always trust them. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. . 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. The Evergreen State takes the top spot again in the U.S. News Best States ranking on the strength of its tech sector and other industries. In that time, I realized most of my problems were because of me. "I'd been told all my life, money will not make you happy," Kelly said. He was doing what the rest of us were doing making bad decisions. 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. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. It was the first Saturday in October. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The authorities didn't know yet how much was missing from the armored-car company, but Steve did. All the while, Ghantt prepared himself for the task at hand. 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. Gaston County residents remember how that worked out. Scary. 1997 Loomis Fargo Robbery - Strange Unexplained Mysteries Why had he ever believed he'd get it? They involve Loomis armored car driver David Scott Ghantt. And I was thinking about just showing up there. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist - phnxathletica.com He would pay McKinney $250,000, half upfront. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. Ghantt ultimately agreed to the plan, largely, due to a mountain of credit-card debt and in hopes of changing his life for the better.