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Chambers went from a mobile home in Lincoln County to a mansion in Cramerton. Man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago now a 'normal guy You've violated that trust. Scott didn't want to, but then he remembered the hundred-grand payday. "But, I hate to admit it, it doesn't faze me one bit. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. As with Kelly, the worst blotch on 29-year-old Eric's record until now was a driving-while-intoxicated conviction. 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. Thatd be the time to do it, Ghantt recalls. Chambers did hire McKinney to kill Ghantt, but initially McKinney was making personal cash deliveries to Ghantt in Mexico on behalf of Chambers. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. 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. Steve told me to tell [David] whatever was necessary to keep him happy.". 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. A couple weeks pass, and I call again, Hey, Id like to get some more money. CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kelly Campbell, the woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored-car company Loomis, Fargo was sentenced yesterday to nearly six years in prison and ordered to pay back more than $4 million. 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. And after two years, you're just a file." "I was thinking, 'They aren't paying me enough,' " McKinney recalled. Kelly told the FBI she had done drugs with David but denied knowing about the theft. Money'll turn your head, I don't care who you are. They ditched the Loomis van, then drove the cash-heavy Budget van to Steve's mobile home in Lincoln County, where his wife, Michele, waited with a calculator and rubber bands. Michele received the best gift of the night. I did every touristy thing you could possibly do while I was down there. Ghantt: My cut was supposed to be about $5 million, but that's not what I ended up with. 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). "He was speechless," said Sandra Floyd. Ghantt started at Loomis Fargo in 1994, and soon worked his way up from an armored car driver to a vault supervisor. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. Kelly drove her pickup to a lot across the street from the Loomis building, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte. Steven Chambers [Misc. Ghantt and one other employee were the last to leave. 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. Question: Are you happy that Wilkesboro-nativeZach Galifianakis plays you in the movie? ". 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. Hes very articulate. Heist: The Oddball Crew Behind the $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft by "But I had to know.". I hit the local library the thing that we used to do before Google, Ghantt says with a small laugh. Everything came crashing down on an early March morning in 1998. "I said, 'That's all they gave me,' " McKinney recalled. In real life: False. This is the person I counted as my friend. 6-Year Sentence For Kelly Campbell | The Seattle Times And then I could hear her laughing. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. Steve led the planning. I wanted to get as far away as I could. You have to remember that it's Hollywood and they'll take what was a minor event and they'll blow it up and make it as funny as they can.". But after she left, she reached back out to Ghantt and brought up what theyd talked about that day in the break room. When McKinney arrived in North Carolina, the plan had changed. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. If they could just sit on the money until then, he said, they'd be fine. David complained it wasn't enough. First, in January, he tried to get someone to take some millions down to Mexico. 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. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Associated Press, BY MICHAEL GORDON, The Charlotte Observer. "I wanted to be more like my mom and dad were.". David was sentenced to 7 1/2 years. 25th anniversary of the incredible Loomis Fargo bank heist | wcnc.com How Bridgerton restarted buzz about her ancestry. Three weeks later, the couple purchased, in cash, a $635,000 stone mansion. Now, I kind of know something is fishy., Alone in Mexico with limited cash, Ghantt thought about turning himself in. Agents noticed it two months later when it flowed to them through official channels, along with hundreds of similar reports involving other people. Masterminds (2016 film) - Wikipedia Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. Question: You went to Mexico. Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. But as soon as he drove off, I went right back in and opened the vault. I knew I was going to be the prime suspect. That was pretty awesome., It felt like a dream vacation until he started running out of money. The Chambers, however, didnt fit in with the other members of the gated community. Zaron Burnett is an investigative journalist and longform features writer based in Los Angeles. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. What made her do it? They also purchased tanning beds, a pool table, a Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle and all kinds of expensive furniture. 1-4-3 is 'I love you.' 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. In early September 1997, Kelly found herself chatting on the phone with a friend who still worked at Loomis, a 27-year-old man who, despite being married, had made no secret of the fact that he had a crush on her. I flew from Atlanta to New Orleans. Yes, happy. I studied up on the FBI. Hes going to start bringing you money. Alright. That's the kind of movie they wanted to make. He kept looking over his shoulder. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. SEVEN NABBED IN CHARLOTTE HEIST\ - Greensboro News and Record I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it," Ghantt said. "Things I always wanted to do, but never had the time or the money," he said. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 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. ", "Even then . They entered their dogs in fights and watched them die. Nah, it was always about the money, he told the agents. In real life: False. He played high school football at Mays High School in Atlanta, and college football at Georgia Tech . Thanksgiving and Christmas were difficult. Kelly was lying. David quickly realized he was the intended victim. At the Halloween party, though, Kelly gave in to Steve, and agreed it had to be done. In February 1998, the FBI tapped their phones and listened to Steve discuss depositing $2.5 million in the Cayman Islands. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. From Mexico, David usually spoke with Kelly on the phone once a week, paying with calling cards. Industry leading Training and Development. She was devastated, Diamant said. So he convinced a local hoodlum in Mexico to try to kill Ghantt. His new life in Mexico had begun. Scott Grant said he hesitated, but agreed if no guns would be involved. [Kelly] told me, 'Just think about it.' The robbery of some $17 million quickly became one of the wildest bank heists of the last quarter century. He pocketed the money and told Chambers and Campbell to send him his cut in Mexico. Kelly was no criminal. He couldn't talk.". I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. He had just returned to his home in Jacksonville, Fla., when he agreed to talk about the heist, his life now and what went wrong when a group of friends who thought they could get away with stealing $17 million cash. It was unclear whether anyone will get that money, authorities said. Then he was driving in the darkness with a van full of cash. I thought, Okay, if I get out of that bubble because the cops depend on that, even the feds my chances to get away go way up.. Did you get paid? 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. By then Id figured out that Bruno was up to no good, and that Id probably never seen any more of my money. Chambers never held Campbell hostage by locking her in a shed on his property. As soon as Corey left, I pretended like I was leaving. I knew that the news wouldnt break until later that morning. 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. Alert: Obviously, spoilers abound. Eric watched. Working together, they got the gate open, then drove in a caravan to the Reynolds & Reynolds parking lot. How Did David Ghantt, Kelly Campbell, Steve Chambers Steal More Than Without really intending to, Kelly recalls, she turned the conversation to the possibility of a heist. . And I knew that by that time, Id be in Cancun no matter what. They involve Loomis armored car driver David Scott Ghantt. If I hadn't done what I did the, the life I have now with my wife and child, I wouldn't have. 27 febrero, 2023 . Loomis Fargo Defendants Owe as Much as They Stole in 1997 The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. One day, the two employees were in the break room and got to talking about the news of the day a massive bank heist that just occurred in Florida by someone at their company. Ghantt knew Chambers as Steve, but didnt find out that his last name was Chambers until the arrests were made. 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. 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. . The cart held about $2 million, and the thief made multiple trips. I just had to call you., Today, Ghantt cant look back on the whole ordeal without some degree of pride. Note: No quotes were altered, although in some cases additional quotes were added to the questions as Ghantt expanded on his thoughts. Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing her. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. Now worried about both the FBI and McKinney, he spent even more time alone in his room. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. The teller, who hadn't asked, filed a "suspicious activity report." But in November, money ran low. 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. He goes, My name is Bruno. It will be some time before she can commune with domestic animals again. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist - legal-innovation.com He figured Tammy wouldn't go for it, and though his marriage had been troubled, he wasn't certain he wanted to leave her. 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. Cool, I say. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. Ghantt worked at Loomis Fargos regional office vault in Charlotte. 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 Mountain. The Loomis Fargo Bank Robbery was the $17.3 million cash robbery of the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of Loomis Fargo & Company on the evening of October 4, 1997, by armored car driver and vault supervisor David Scott Ghantt. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. Steve had already paid McKinney $50,000 for the use of his ID. 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. Should David be killed after he gave them the money? 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. Ghantt:It baffles me to this day. 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. Now two NC men face prison. If you want to go ahead and go, I got it. She asked about the limit for a cash deposit before "paperwork" was required. Together, they drove in a convoy to an industrial warehouse eight miles away, where Eric Payne, a fourth accomplice was. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. They agreed that after the heist, David would immediately move to Mexico, alone, but Kelly would soon join him there, with her two children. ". Theres no management around. 2500 City West Blvd., Suite 2300 Houston, TX 77042. Its hilarious. 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. Because lets be brutally honest: Theyre not wrong, okay? "I'd been told all my life, money will not make you happy," Kelly said. See all of the stories here. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. For her part, Kelly Campbell spent six years in federal prison. 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. I was burned out and just didn't know it. Seven Charged In $17M Heist - CBS News 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. 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. Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle for sale at auction of items Was that really what it was about? There was, however, one problem with his plan. Loomis employees drive the very core of our business. You can seize property. I was just going to get the money into the van. But he tried to keep his face averted, so David wouldn't be able to ID him. You see, there's a reason Loomis Fargo used armored cars to move large amounts of cash. At 7:45, David had finished loading. There was in fact a basically similar conversation involving Chambers and Campbell that took place during a barbecue the Campbells were hosting. And to me, if it pisses them off, Im all for it.. ", "I wouldn't do it. . But first they wanted to know if it was a robbery or a robbery-homicide. Campbell, 29, had pleaded guilty to charges of bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder. They planned to kill a man named David Ghantt, the guy who had made their extravagant new lifestyle a reality. It affects everybody different. If you go from a mobile home to a mansion, that's going to attract attention.