The audacity of the act was breathtaking. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. "Every time my conscience would start bothering me," Kelly recalled, "I'd smoke another joint and forget about it.". . Its about the 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery also known as the hillbillly heist the second largest cash robbery in the history of the United States. Best States is an interactive platform developed by U.S. News for ranking the 50 U.S. states, alongside news analysis and daily reporting. I said, It comes down to picking the right day, and the right time of the month, and all that good stuff. I even told her, It wouldnt be all that difficult. He became the target of a nationwide FBI manhunt and was arrested five months later near the Mexican resort of Cozumel. www.loomis.com. 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. 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. So much so that one suspicious neighbor called the FBI. 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. Scott was so nervous, he said, that he couldn't help. Given his position at the bank, hed be the one to pull off the robbery, and he intended to be ready. 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. Meanwhile, outside Reynolds & Reynolds, Steve, Scott and Eric needed to move 2,748 pounds of cash, quickly, from the Loomis van into the Budget van. He said at first, they were very proud of what they had been able to do. Kelly was no criminal. . Too many questions remained: Where was the cash? No dry runs, no rehearsals. Steve bought a truck, a Rolex and a motorboat. 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. Of course the problem was, the money belonged to someone else. I did every touristy thing you could possibly do while I was down there. With a cast like this, and Emily Spivey (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Up All Night) as part of the writing team, Masterminds shouldnt be nearly as obnoxious and dull as it is, but nothing ever clicks. He wouldn't give me the opportunity to say anything else. This machine is the property of Loomis. 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. A third tape he didn't know about kept recording. 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.. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. "I thought he was goofing around.". That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. She'd heard his stories of other successful schemes, like getting refunds on phony tax returns, or operating a loan shark business. He realized that if they met the minimum monthly payments, the bill would take 30 years to pay. Kelly would only discover later that leading up to the heist, Steve had been writing bad checks, $17,000 worth, for which he would later be convicted. At first, I just blended in with the tourists and picked up a few translation books, Ghantt explains. David trusted her. But first they wanted to know if it was a robbery or a robbery-homicide. The mystery 1-4-3 caller had been Kelly, though agents didn't know it yet. Even with several vehicles, they underestimated how much space they would need and they had to leave $3 million behind. She declined to take a lie-detector test. "He was in tears. I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. ". "We're not the type that questions everything people tell us," Floyd said. Three weeks after the theft, Steve and Michele moved from their Lincoln County mobile home to a $635,000 house in a gated Cramerton, N.C., neighborhood. They also purchased expensive cars, jewelry and a breast enhancement or two. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. Two days after theyd robbed the Loomis Fargo truck the very same day the police found the abandoned van in the woods Steve and Michelle Chambers walked into a bank and deposited their cut of the stolen money into their account. Steve, who had sworn Kelly, Eric and Scott to secrecy the night of the theft, named them all to the FBI. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) Ghantt pulled out $50,000 from the back of the unmarked Loomis Fargo van. She was a wife and mother with two children. 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. I think I always knew that, but lost my way for a while.". 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. The gang made numerous mistakes. 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. Ghantt, who by then was long out of prison, served as a consultant. ". So the pieces were falling into place for investigators. About six months before the Charlotte theft, on March 29, a total of $18.8 million was taken from Loomis, Fargo in Jacksonville, Fla., in what was believed to be the largest heist in U.S.. . 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. Of course the most famous thing inside the home was a velvet Elvis portrait. That was great. I really enjoyed the little scuba diving trip. Zaron Burnett is an investigative journalist and longform features writer based in Los Angeles. She came from a blue-collar background, a high school dropout who had grown tired of working in a mill and gotten an equivalency diploma. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist (No Ratings Yet) . He placed stacks of currency on a cart and wheeled it to the van about 15 feet away, inside the building. And I said, Hey, man, I got this. He covers culture, politics, race, and other perplexing mysteries for MEL. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. The teller, who hadn't asked, filed a "suspicious activity report." Website. I think if you remember some of her early photographic opportunities, shall we put it that way, she was sort of laughing, not seeming to take it seriously.. And then I could hear her laughing. Michelle Chambers received seven years and eight months, while Steve Chambers was handed an 11-year sentence. David was sentenced to 7 1/2 years. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. The old man me would never survive that, Id have a heart attack.. You're an idiot.'". Ghantt said he believes in redemption, and that his mistake 25 years ago brought him all the things that are important in his life today. For reasons that remain obscure, Robert spilled the beans to David. I hit the local library the thing that we used to do before Google, Ghantt says with a small laugh. He appeared happily matched with his high-spirited wife, Michele, and the two children from her first marriage. Instead of lobster, the man who stole $17 million survived on home-cooked pasta and grilled cheese sandwiches. 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. And I knew that by that time, Id be in Cancun no matter what. 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. Husband and wife Steven and Michelle Chambers, whose conspicuous consumption of a luxury home, a BMW convertible, breast implants and a $600 wooden Indian, among other purchases, helped the FBI solve the crime, were assessed $3.81 million and $4.8 million, respectively. They put up mauve wallpaper. Ghantt was caught on videotape loading large amounts of cash into a truck. The best states in the U.S. come from coast to coast. Even still, he was 27, married and struggling to provide for his family. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer . Scott Grant said he hesitated, but agreed if no guns would be involved. 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. About 200 keys dangled from it. Eventually, Steve made Kelly believe they could steal from Loomis and get away with it, she said. But being the vault supervisor at Loomis Fargo had one perk -- exposure to tons of cash. What made her abandon an ordinary existence to commit this spectacular, doomed crime? There used to be a consulate in Cancun. So he got in a cab and went to a mall. They assumed that whoever was involved would keep the cash in a safe place, like a safe deposit box. That was the thing that sticks in my mind to this day., 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. Steve had another conversation with Kelly about killing David. Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing her. Her sentence was delayed until Jan. 1 so she could spend the holidays with her family. Its kind of like that. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. In the dark, Scott inserted one key into the back door slot. While Ghantt trusted Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. Action News Jax facebook feed(Opens a new window), Action News Jax twitter feed(Opens a new window), Action News Jax youtube feed(Opens a new window), Florida Senator proposes bill to cancel Democratic Party in state, Georgia star Jalen Carter charged with racing in fatal wreck, FHP: Man dies after FDOT Road Ranger rear-ends truck, pushes him over edge of Buckman Bridge, Bartram Trail High School girls lacrosse player denied NIL opportunity, Contest: Win tickets to the AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville. . Then FBI agent Wydra watched Steve's wife, Michele, deposit about $8,000 at a Gaston County, N.C., bank. Theres less security. What kind of surprised me is how much the car smelled like money, like if you ever hold money up to your nose it has a distinct smell, Wydra said. I told them, Take it, box it up, and youll be able to ship it to me in Mexico. Back in the 1990s, you couldve probably boxed up a hot pink elephant and shipped it to Mexico; no one wouldve ever noticed. He has a regular life now, but 25 years ago, Ghantt was the mastermind behind the third-largest bank robbery in U.S. history. We need to set up some way for me to get my money. She said, We got it all worked out. Until, that is, he decided to hell with it he was going to pull-off the second largest heist in U.S. history. 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. Money'll turn your head, I don't care who you are. He figured Tammy wouldn't go for it, and though his marriage had been troubled, he wasn't certain he wanted to leave her. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. They also purchased tanning beds, a pool table, a Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle and all kinds of expensive furniture. David quickly realized he was the intended victim. 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. Some days, the robbery seems like a memory from a different life, a choice made by a different man. At 7:45, David had finished loading. Not Ghantt. Steven Chambers and David Ghantt (back) arrested 12) Loomis Fargo heist- The aftermath Steve tried keys on a side door. When she realized Ghantt never came home from work the night before, she contacted the police and filed a missing persons report. Kelly Campbell is scheduled to be sentenced in October. Thats where they feel comfortable., This piece of information would become critical to his getaway plan. . All but one took plea deals, including Ghantt, who was sentenced to seven years in prison. "I've learned that I'm a fortunate man," he said. He'd even bragged that he'd killed people. 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. 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. Agents noticed it two months later when it flowed to them through official channels, along with hundreds of similar reports involving other people. I was looking at small sailboats and theyre not cheap, he tells me. Michele told her mother she and Steve had been saving gambling winnings for the down payment. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. Then another. There was a third person with them, too, a man named Eric Grant. In December, agents got the tie-in they were looking for: Kelly Campbell had bought a $30,000 Toyota minivan with cash and registered it to one of Steve Chambers's aliases. An officer rang the doorbell. 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. Its like, me and you sat down, I have access to pie, you like pie, all I want is my share of the pie. Chambers, now 32, didn't grant an interview for this article, but last year, in response to written questions, he said the biggest lesson he learned was: "Family is more important and valuable than money. and "I'm rich!". 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. 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. I didnt pick the heist team. In the two days after the robbery, agents interviewed more than 100 people, most connected with David. For her part, Kelly Campbell spent six years in federal prison. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. You might as well go all the way now.". Loomis Fargo Defendants Owe as Much as They Stole in 1997, 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. When October 1997 began, Steve and Michelle Chambers lived in a double-wide trailer. Exciting. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. In the meantime, the FBI was closing in looking to bust a total of 21 suspected accomplices. There had been no signs. To be brutally honest, it was that morning, Ghantt replied. Theyre meant to be trailer-park trash, but they come off as character experiments on a bad night at the Groundlings. They planned to kill a man named David Ghantt, the guy who had made their extravagant new lifestyle a reality. The number of people involved had ballooned after Steve started asking friends and family to help him launder the stolen cash. . The Columbia airport had no available flights. Based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery. On Oct. 7, 1997, two FBI agents arrived at Kelly Campbell's home after two Loomis employees had told agents she and David had once dated. I missed my wife. 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. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. So they went to Mexico and arrested Ghantt in order to protect him. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. Was the temptation too much? Its in the ether. A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. There, Scott and Eric paced the floor as Steve tried to calm them down. Kelly's company. Nah, it was always about the money, he told the agents. 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. Steve led the planning. He added that money can be a motivator for anyone. He had a favorite restaurant, Zandunga, which had a mariachi band each night and a view of the Caribbean. To celebrate Halloween, about seven of Steve's friends, including Eric Payne and Kelly, gathered for a party at Steve's house. The money weighed as much as a compact car and he did it all by himself. It, too, has changed hands several times. Kelly drove David to the airport. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. Haz clic en Gestionar ajustes para obtener ms informacin y gestionar tus opciones. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. When I put that cash in the back of the car, by the time I got to the office the whole car smelled like that. But it didnt really hit me until later., On March 2nd, when the FBI agents walked up to Ghantt in Playa del Carmen and told him he was under arrest, Ghantt was relieved. The platform is designed to engage citizens and government leaders in a discussion about what needs improvement across the country. All of the defendants are out of prison -- the longest sentence was 11 years. The use of this site is restricted to authorized personnel only. Twenty-one people were charged and convicted in the robbery, one of the biggest heists in U.S. history. He learned to parachute. Its 90-minutes of mugging for the camera, but the only people who feel mugged are those that pay to see Masterminds. The problem with the movie, however, is that the talented cast had no idea what the hell they were trying to do. And to me, if it pisses them off, Im all for it.. David was excited, jabbering about their future together. Or that hed gotten lucky gambling. "I was thinking, 'They aren't paying me enough,' " McKinney recalled. Well they were in some sense celebrities, Gronquist said. The FBI heard about the plot and agents knew they could no longer wait. At the sight of all that money, Scott and Eric had the same thought: They'd made the worst mistake of their lives. When I call Ghantt to discuss his involvement in the Loomis Fargo heist, he confesses that hes feeling a bit tired from a day of honest labor. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. David complained it wasn't enough. As it turned out, Ghantt was zipping up his scuba suit in Mexico. In the first heist, a regional vault supervisor loaded money into a branded truck and . The barrels were Steves idea, Ghantt says. About the same time, Kelly and McKinney received phone calls from agents who told them to open their doors. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. Kelly said she had reason to believe Steve might be able to pull off a heist. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. I knew that the news wouldnt break until later that morning. That day, FBI agents also would arrest Scott Grant and Eric Payne, who had spent his share of the money on a motorcycle and breast implants for his wife and two sisters. When he finished, the van was filled with $17 million. Almost 19 years after Ghantt and a group of friends from Gaston County pulled off one of the largest cash heists in U.S. history, the movie "Masterminds" will play up the caper for laughs. They placed a bust of Caesar in the dining room. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily . The initials on the money wrapper belonged to a Loomis employee who hadn't worked there since before the heist. If we work together, we can all have plenty of pie.. Jared Hess directed Masterminds, and god bless the guy, but if Gentlemen Broncos and Nacho Libre were not proof enough that Napoleon Dynamite was a fluke, Masterminds should seal the deal. "I said, 'I don't want him killed.' He kept looking over his shoulder. . Though David had said earlier he thought there was $15 million in the vault, the sight of that much cash held them spellbound. It just happened to fall on my desk.. Campbell helped plot the robbery of Loomis Charlotte vault on Oct. 4, 1997, with David Ghantt, a Loomis supervisor who stole the money, and Steve Chambers, a longtime Campbell friend. I made a joke once that was the hardest Id ever worked for Wells Fargo -- yeah, its a lot of work, Ghantt said. About 5:45 a.m., he got into his pickup and began the 45-minute drive to work in Charlotte. 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. "I said, 'Yeah, sure.' After a Gulf War stint in the Army, David got married in 1992. Theres some things I want to do., Ghantt planned on traveling from Mexico to the Cayman Islands, bypassing customs along the way. About 20 ago, Campbell sent him a letter of apology, but he never responded. At 6 that morning, FBI supervisor Rick Shaffer led 12 agents and several Gaston County police officers up a winding road on Cramer Mountain to Steve's home. ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east Charlotte, mom says. I mean, cause greed is a funny animal. He had even scheduled a follow-up appointment at the dentist. It has a certain feel, a smell and weight to it. 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. FBI video shows the agency searching that home and finding drawers full of cash. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. For his part, Ghantt was now officially on his way to Mexico, his future stretched out before him. 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. His name was Corey. In a word, "Teamwork. Since Ghantt was the supervisor, he sent his co-worker home first. Sun, sand and beaches are all part of why Jacksonville is a popular destination. David was living under the name Mike McKinney on a phony ID. Most people are going to forgive you. In the meantime, however, Chambers not only refused to wire money to Ghantt in Mexico, but ultimately hired a hitman (Jason Sudeikis) to take him out. 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. Scott didn't want to, but then he remembered the hundred-grand payday. . 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