Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. All of the cash from the Loomis Fargo heist was recovered or accounted for, except for $2 million. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. Marshals Service auctioned off the purchased items in Charlotte, most of which came from the Chambers and Cramers. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. I had to go in there and tell her the whole story, and she was real cool about it. One number is working in Campbells favor. Web>> 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 Things started to go south the night of the robbery. And youre like, Come on parachute. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. Thirteen friends and family members were also charged with money laundering, as they had helped Ghantt, Chambers, Campbell, and the others deposit money illegally. 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. [3][4] Its Charlotte office would be the victim of David Scott Ghantt and his confederates later that year. The next day, Steve and Michelle Chambers, Kelly Campbell, and four others were arrested.[6]. Some of the friends and family members received parole, while Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. As it turned out, Ghantt was zipping up his scuba suit in Mexico. David Scott Ghantt was the vault supervisor at the regional branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina. But first they wanted to know if it was a robbery or a robbery-homicide. He was the only employee unaccounted for the next morning, and videotapes recovered at the Loomis Fargo Charlotte office showed Ghantt removing "cubes of cash" and loading it into a Loomis Fargo armored van for over an hour. Or as he tells me, How many people in the United States havent thought about robbing a bank? The reason Ghantt got involved wasalways the same: he realized that he couldnt make his credit card payments, and was thus unable to support his family. WebTo 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 His collection case closes in two years. While she made small deposits at first, she became more reckless, eventually making a deposit of thousands of dollars in cash, telling the teller not to worry: Its not drug money.. Naturally, Ghantt started to run out of cash and turned to Chambers, who was annoyed by his requests for more money. Masterminds is a 2016 American comedy film based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo Robbery in North Carolina. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ A woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored car company Loomis, Fargo & Co. 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. The best states in the U.S. come from coast to coast. To find out more about how the thieves got caught and how long they landed behind bars, tune in the Super Heists on CNBC on Monday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. I did every touristy thing you could possibly do while I was down there. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. Inside were, along with other personal items, his keys and wedding ring. The robbery of some $17 million quickly became one of the wildest bank heists of the last quarter century. Ghantt was joking in the breakroom with fellow Loomis Fargo employee Kelly Campbell. Eight people were indicted for bank larceny and money laundering,whichnine friends and relatives were also charged for, as theyd co-signed safe deposit boxes to store some of the cash. Officials suspected that the extravagant purchases stemmed from the fact that all involved got far more money than they anticipated and literally didnt know how to spend or get rid of it, which is perhaps backed up by the fact that Chambers wife once walked into a Belmont Wachovia with $200,000 in a briefcase wanting to know how much she could deposit without the bank reporting it to officials. Is the movie Masterminds based on a true story? Not only was Ghantt the only unaccounted for employee the morning after the heist, there was also footage of Ghantt moving the cash into the back of the Loomis Fargo van. He left his wedding ring behind and spent his days spending money on luxury hotels and scuba diving. You can garnish wages. 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the year that everything happened 1997. By then Id figured out that Bruno was up to no good, and that Id probably never seen any more of my money. Ghantt was working a late shift, and just after 6:30 p.m., his coworkers were packing up and heading for home. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. This is where it starts to unravel, Ghantt tells me with a wry laugh. But of course, then they had to decorate that spectacular new space and so they spent tens of thousands of dollars on things like cigar store Indians, paintings of Elvis, and a bulldog dressed up like George Patton. Instead, the two started hanging out on the beach together and became friends. For the New York State assemblyman, see. In August 1997, Campbell informed Ghantt of an old high school friend of hers, Steve Chambers, who could assist Ghantt in executing a massive cash robbery of the Loomis Fargo vault in one night. Ron DeSantis has awarded $100 million for beach erosion projects and other restoration efforts in 16 coastal counties damaged by Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole, A Tennessee judge has ruled that video detailing the treatment of a death row inmate who cut off his penis while on suicide watch must be made public, An Indiana man faces felony charges after his diaper-clad 4-year-old son was seen pointing a loaded handgun at people outside their apartment. The details of the heist itself, coupled with the missteps the crew made after stealing the money, attracted the attention of writers and movie producers. His partners, who planned to stay behind, agreed to send him his full cut of the money after the heat from investigators had died down. David Ghantt, a Gulf War veteran, had never been in trouble with the law. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. WebThis real-life . WebFILE - 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 I was working sometimes 75-80 hrs a week for $8.15 an hour, I didnt even have a real home life because I was never there I was working all the time and unhappy which is understandable considering how old I was at the time. Nine other relatives and friends were also charged with money laundering, as they had co-signed for safe deposit boxes used to store some of the money; prosecutors opted to charge them on the grounds that they should have known the money was obtained illegally. Because the money in the vault was largely from banks, the crime was technically a bank robbery and thus a federal offense. Without question, 1997's Loomis Fargo robbery has a home in it. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. The conversations werent made up of much more than daydreams that took the vague shape of plansuntilCampbell mentioned that she had a high school friend with connections that could actually get it done. Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. He was released in 2006. At the time of the real robbery, Chambers was facing criminal charges hed written 30K worth of bad checks and was facing jail time for it. Chambers got 11 years. Ghantt sent home a new employee and quickly loaded the money into the back of a bank van. 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. It didnt take the local police long to put the pieces together. An inept hitman was sent to kill David Ghantt. When asked what the dumbest thing was that Ghantt spent money on, he admitted: The 4 pairs of boots I bought in one day [shrug] what can I say they were nice and I was impulse shopping.. Then, keeping with the plan, Ghantt took $50,000 (the maximum that could by law be taken across the border without further authorization) with him and left for Mexico, winding up at the popular Yucatan Peninsula resort-island of Cozumel. WebWho was involved in the Loomis Fargo robbery? 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.. All but one of the indicted pleaded guilty. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. It wasnt a big hit, but Ghantt, who was played by Galifianakis, gives it a rave review. Ghantt, meanwhile, was losing his patience and starting to make threats. These days, the 52-year-old husband and father lives in Jacksonville, Florida, where he works at a heavy equipment rental agency. I mean, cause greed is a funny animal. Items included a velvet Elvis painting, 1998 BMW, 17-foot motorboat and Harley Davidson. 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. There used to be a consulate in Cancun. From going fishing to riding horses on the beach the whole nine yards. The number of people involved had ballooned after Steve started asking friends and family to help him launder the stolen cash. They received sentences and probation ranging from several years to 11 years and three months in federal prison for Steve Chambers, who was also fined more than $3,500,000. He then began loading $17 million in unmarked bills inside a company van before driving away. I told the lead investigator I was glad to see him.. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! He made it across the border just as his deception was discovered. They left behind the cash they couldnt fit in their cars. The only defendant to not plead guilty, Chambers's attorney Jeff Guller, was found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to eight years in prison. kellis@gastongazette.com View Comments 0:03 1:14 On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. First, Chambers and his wife each deposited $5,000 into each of their bank accounts. Hes very articulate. 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.. Or that hed gotten lucky gambling. After loading the massive cache of loot into the armored truck, Ghantt set the time lock on the vault, which locked the door for days unless the employees drilled through the lock. [15], "David Ghantt" redirects here. About 20 ago, Campbell sent him a letter of apology, but he never responded. In February 2009 the Associated Press reported that Chambers had chosen to describe himself as "changed". 9 Where did the masterminds live after the heist? The police then called the FBI because most of the money handled at the facility belonged to banks, which technically made it a bank robbery a federal offense.[5]. Campbell knew theyd need the help of the warehouses vault supervisor, who just happened to have a crush on her, and she called Ghantt to ask for his help. Im a very deliberate person. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. If you can see the obvious flaw in this plan, namely that Chambers would have no reason whatsoever to actually wire Ghantt any money, then congratulations. Where did the masterminds live after the heist? 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. art ms47 301 004 01 gazebo, summation artifact radiology, Job at Loomis Fargo employee Kelly Campbell in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books back of bank. Fbi would never connect him to Ghantt it across the border just as his deception was discovered he began. His keys and wedding ring together and became friends the number of people involved ballooned. Employee Kelly Campbell, and she says, How many people in the breakroom with fellow Loomis Fargo has. Letter of apology, but he never responded first they wanted to know if was! 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