. You've violated that trust. 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. Michele tells me you're in a financial bind. "It wasn't me, it was Steve," she says she told him. "Love" has four. But few could have guessed how spectacularly the heist would go wrong after the criminals initially got away with it. David was sentenced to 7 1/2 years. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. One thing about teammates, in David's view: You could always trust them. 27 febrero, 2023 . 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. Looking for Kelly Loomis? I mean, cause greed is a funny animal. He flew in an ultra-light plane. In the dark, Scott inserted one key into the back door slot. Gaston County residents remember how that worked out. "I missed my family. Loomis has received $978,983.79, according to Sally Butcher, an assistant clerk in the federal courts of the Western District of North Carolina who specializes in criminal debt. The others, though, went no farther than Cramer Mountain. They tried to break the van's bulletproof windows. Why had he ever believed he'd get it? 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. You might as well go all the way now.". He has no contact with any of those convicted with him in the crime, including his former wife, and doesn't plan to see the movie, he said. Some days, the robbery seems like a memory from a different life, a choice made by a different man. That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. 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. Agents found out where Ghantt was living because Chambers had put out a hit on him, foolishly believing Ghantt was the only person the FBI had fingered for the crime. He drove to the edge of the Loomis compound, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence. He appeared happily matched with his high-spirited wife, Michele, and the two children from her first marriage. So the last third of the movie is almost entirely fiction. Instead of lobster, the man who stole $17 million survived on home-cooked pasta and grilled cheese sandwiches. She also must . Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. I couldn't understand why I hadn't been more successful," David said. Campbell, 29, had pleaded guilty to charges of bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder. Too many questions remained: Where was the cash? Steve was sentenced to 11 years 3 months in prison. how to match 8 hypercubes in bejeweled. "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. Although David was in on most of the planning, one discussion between Steve and Kelly was kept a secret. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. 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. 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. Ghantt and one other employee were the last to leave. David said he realized then, for the first time, he might not see the millions he thought he had coming to him. The money was heavy. Scott, 26, had a larceny conviction as a teenager, but he'd since cleaned up his act and now had a steady job, a daughter and a girlfriend. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. Health savings account and flexible spending account. Kelly found herself standing beside David while they waited together for a bond hearing. Without really intending to, Kelly recalls, she turned the conversation to the possibility of a heist. That was pretty awesome., It felt like a dream vacation until he started running out of money. When he walked onto the plane, he was wearing big, tall cowboy boots, where hed stuffed a majority of the smuggled cash. On Nov. 12, a confidential informant told the FBI about Steve Chambers's move from mobile home to mansion. They bought a BMW roadster. . Where was Ghantt? Question: Are you happy that Wilkesboro-nativeZach Galifianakis plays you in the movie? Ghantt:I hate to say it, but I had six years of sitting in a box to think about my life. ];David Scott Ghanntt [Misc.] No regrets. We spoke to the FBI agents who investigated the case who say the real-life. Sandra Floyd, Michele Chambers's mother, remembers the first time she saw the house. Things started to go south the night of the robbery. Hes going to start bringing you money. Alright. They picked me, he says with a rueful tone. 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. "Things I always wanted to do, but never had the time or the money," he said. and "I love money!" But agents weren't ready to arrest Kelly and Steve. "I was unhappy with my life. 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 said, 'Yeah, right,' and turned his head. Three weeks later, the couple purchased, in cash, a $635,000 stone mansion. It was an ear-biting, Pierce Brosnan-loving, comet-obsessed world, and were here to relive every minute of it. When he was done, the man drove off to a nearby printing press, where the money was distributed into private vehicles amongst a handful of people. Question: Should people go see this movie? 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) Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. These days, the 52-year-old husband and father lives in Jacksonville, Florida, where he works at a heavy equipment rental agency. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. Theres no management around. and "I'm rich!". He hated the sweet smell of the green ink, and the $8.15-an-hour salary. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. It changes you. I hear her typing. 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. Key benefit components include: Health insurance plans. He'd stay up all night, boosted by coffee, waiting for the sunrise over the ocean. He was doing what the rest of us were doing making bad decisions. Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. Before David left for the airport, he had handed Scott an eight-inch key ring. They were the butt of a national joke. Thanksgiving and Christmas were difficult. He'd even bragged that he'd killed people. He's a very likable person. A version of this story originally appeared on CharlotteObserver.com. The van door opened. But former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt can. From going fishing to riding horses on the beach the whole nine yards. They didn't know it, but they were leaving $3.3 million behind. He figured Tammy wouldn't go for it, and though his marriage had been troubled, he wasn't certain he wanted to leave her. Now worried about both the FBI and McKinney, he spent even more time alone in his room. 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. The plan was to split the money three ways: Chambers, Campbell and Ghantt would each walk away with what Ghantt estimated to be $5 million a piece the kind of money that changes lives forever. 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. In February 1998, the FBI tapped their phones and listened to Steve discuss depositing $2.5 million in the Cayman Islands. Thatd be the time to do it, Ghantt recalls. But Ghantt, who served as an unpaid consultant to the movie and attended the big Los Angeles premiere earlier in the week, has no such reservations. 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. 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. And to me, if it pisses them off, Im all for it.. My love for my family is by far the most important thing in my life. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. >> 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. 4,. For reasons that remain obscure, Robert spilled the beans to David. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. 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. 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. 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. Find 145 people named Kelly Loomis along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. Question: Do you ever think you could have been killed? David trusted her. Ghantt went on to explain that he rarely even looks at his debt statement to the government, but believes the IRS says he still owes them $3.8 million. He pocketed the money and told Chambers and Campbell to send him his cut in Mexico. Kelly drove David to the airport. They stocked a wine cellar. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. Alert: Obviously, spoilers abound. Military + Veterans. Yes, happy. Tags: Associated Press, courts, crime, North Carolina. They cursed. ". About 20 ago, Campbell sent him a letter of apology, but he never responded. Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. He went deep-sea fishing. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. She could walk under the trees, with the chickens and goats and dogs that live around her mobile home. Reach our Customer Contact Center by calling 877.877.0560 from 6:30 AM to 11:30 PM CT every day or by completing the provided form. In the following months, Steve persisted, even floating the notion of placing phony hand grenades on a Loomis truck to scare away the drivers, Kelly said. As with many recent historic events, this one had been caught on videotape, a fact that a few dozen Charlotte FBI agents would learn in a hastily organized Sunday morning meeting. His wife, Tammy, was as shocked as Loomis officials. Mexican police, Interpol officers and an FBI agent were watching him. And I said, Hey, man, I got this. Eventually, Steve made Kelly believe they could steal from Loomis and get away with it, she said. By late November, McKinney made a third trip to Mexico, saying he'd help David move to Mexico City. On his way out, he grabbed the surveillance video, hoping to cover his tracks. Zaron Burnett is an investigative journalist and longform features writer based in Los Angeles. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. First, in January, he tried to get someone to take some millions down to Mexico. And so, he told her, Google my name. Two more defendants in the $17 million Loomis Fargo & Co. robbery last year have agreed to plead guilty, and a third person entered a formal plea in court. It didnt take the local police long to put the pieces together. At the Halloween party, though, Kelly gave in to Steve, and agreed it had to be done. More than 20 people ended up in the FBI's dragnet. Working together, they got the gate open, then drove in a caravan to the Reynolds & Reynolds parking lot. Twenty-five years ago, a small group of rural North Carolinian amateur bank robbers pulled off the second-largest heist in American history. She could visit friends. Before long, the tales of high living by Chambers and his now former wife, Michelle, led the thieves to be labeled either the "Cramer Mountain Hillbillies" or "The gang that couldn't steal straight." I don't want to be mean, but that's probably the dumbest thing they could do. . What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.. Why did this Charlotte engineer leave her job? Now, I kind of know something is fishy., Alone in Mexico with limited cash, Ghantt thought about turning himself in. Steven Chambers [Misc. I think I always knew that, but lost my way for a while.". Its in the ether. Or that it was an inheritance. . Twice a week over the next 12 months, we will take you back to the winter of sheep cloning and the summer of Con Air. His new life in Mexico had begun. He realized that if they met the minimum monthly payments, the bill would take 30 years to pay. They found Ghantts truck, and in it were his keys, some personal items and his wedding ring. About the same time, Kelly and McKinney received phone calls from agents who told them to open their doors. To celebrate Halloween, about seven of Steve's friends, including Eric Payne and Kelly, gathered for a party at Steve's house. With the help of Aldo, a Mexican waiter he had befriended, David found a beach apartment in Cancun. He partied, met women, drank, skied and hung out at the beach. 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.. Kelly drove her pickup to a lot across the street from the Loomis building, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte. In real life: Mostly true. This story was originally published October 3, 2016, 9:12 PM. Nah, it was always about the money, he told the agents. Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. Chambers never held Campbell hostage by locking her in a shed on his property. Though David had said earlier he thought there was $15 million in the vault, the sight of that much cash held them spellbound. I knew it was just a matter of time. But because David's relationship with his Loomis bosses had been rocky, he says, he doesn't feel sorry about what he did to the company. He would pay McKinney $250,000, half upfront. And youre like, Come on parachute. Or that hed gotten lucky gambling. Ghantt:We're both North Carolina boys so we had a lot to talk about from the very beginning. Sweat soaked David's uniform. Question: Any contact with Steve Chambers or any of the others involved with the heist? 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. An Ohio police officer who shot and killed a Black man as he lay in bed in his home last summer is no longer on the force, Three Kansas City police officers who were shot while serving a search warrant have been released from the hospital, Officials say one passenger died when a business jet experienced severe turbulence, forcing a landing at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. In the two days after the robbery, agents interviewed more than 100 people, most connected with David. In the meantime, the FBI was closing in looking to bust a total of 21 suspected accomplices. Question: You went to Mexico. The others sat in their cars across the street and watched him struggle to open the heavy gate. No dry runs, no rehearsals. . Basic and voluntary life insurance plan. Because lets be brutally honest: Theyre not wrong, okay? 1-4-3 is 'I love you.' The robbery of some $17 million quickly became one of the wildest bank heists of the last quarter century. Then, I started loading the van., Money, when bound in bulk and stacked in canvas bags, is heavier than you might expect. 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. "I felt that if I didn't do something, I was going to snap," David said. David quickly realized he was the intended victim. He goes, My name is Bruno. Then another. Called Masterminds, the 2016 film stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. ', "He asked me if I'd mind holding some money for him. Kelly, using David's cell phone, kept beeping him. 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. Then he was driving in the darkness with a van full of cash. Ghantt started at Loomis Fargo in 1994, and soon worked his way up from an armored car driver to a vault supervisor. He had even scheduled a follow-up appointment at the dentist. Purchases included a pool table, jewelry (including a $43,000 diamond ring), a minivan, $20,000 worth of cigars, and the 7,000-square-foot home on the side of Cramer. How Bridgerton restarted buzz about her ancestry. Im on the phone with Kelly [Campbell], and Im like, Hey, I really was expecting a package to arrive. "You" has three. Were others involved? He approached a longtime friend, Eric Payne, who lived in a mobile home south of Belmont, N.C. Steve offered him $100,000 to help. And after two years, you're just a file." Purchases included a pool table, jewelry (including a $43,000 diamond ring), a minivan, $20,000 worth of cigars, and the 7,000-square-foot home on the side of Cramer. Ghantt ended up doing more than five years in prison, Chambers did more than 11 years. But what did that mean? 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. "I'm glad I've grown out of that.". Chambers did hire McKinney to kill Ghantt, but initially McKinney was making personal cash deliveries to Ghantt in Mexico on behalf of Chambers. She didn't plan to move to Mexico. David didn't even know Steve's name. "Think of how many women would have stood by. I really enjoyed the little scuba diving trip. Ghantt worked at Loomis Fargos regional office vault in Charlotte. Ghantt was never in Chamberss presence until he actually handed off the money to him. At 6-1 and 220 pounds, Steve was stocky and imposing, a fast talker with a brown goatee. 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. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Steve Chambers has told agents the missing cash was stolen from a shed in Lincoln County. The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history. As with Kelly, the worst blotch on 29-year-old Eric's record until now was a driving-while-intoxicated conviction. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. Meanwhile, back in North Carolina, Ghantts wife woke up to find her husband missing. There, Scott and Eric paced the floor as Steve tried to calm them down. 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. There used to be a consulate in Cancun. The whole town I was staying in was 98.9 percent Mexican, except for when the cruise ships were in, Ghantt recalls. "She said, 'What would it take to convince you to do it?' They paid for all of it in cash. 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. Theres some things I want to do., Ghantt planned on traveling from Mexico to the Cayman Islands, bypassing customs along the way. He frequently entertained there, buying steaks for his guests. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. There was in fact a basically similar conversation involving Chambers and Campbell that took place during a barbecue the Campbells were hosting. Some of that money is just gone. The last time he called me, he said, Hey Ghantt, I just saw a big Loomis Fargo truck. 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. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. Kelly, she says now, was thinking about how happy she would be to send this man far away from her. They planned to kill a man named David Ghantt, the guy who had made their extravagant new lifestyle a reality. "I" has one letter. She'd heard his stories of other successful schemes, like getting refunds on phony tax returns, or operating a loan shark business. He told Steve he hadn't been able to find David. All rights reserved. Some received probation for money laundering, many others did hard time. In the first days after the arrests, agents recovered or accounted for all but about $2 million of the stolen money. In real life: True. Steve had another conversation with Kelly about killing David. Why fans love it. It was the first Saturday in October. We spoke with the inside man, David Ghantt, to get the real story. What concerned her was the chance of getting caught. The cash was covered with dog food. Ghantt:It's a comedy. Hed be in contact. Its hilarious. In real life: False. Ghantt knew Chambers as Steve, but didnt find out that his last name was Chambers until the arrests were made. When he said, 'I'll give you $20,000 to hold a million,' I said, 'Sure.' "But, I hate to admit it, it doesn't faze me one bit. Charlotte Magazine even ran a feature story about the Loomis Fargo heist with the title, White Trash Crime. The headlines, however, never bothered Ghantt.