He angrily hung up the phone at Loomis, Fargo & Co., his soon-to-be former employer in Charlotte, North Carolina. A former FBI agent who helped crack the case sat down with Channel 9 Reporter Glenn Counts to talk about the clues that led to solving the crime, and how the group got caught. Jeff Diamant was a reporter for the Charlotte Observer when the heist took place. She sounded incredulous. That movie, Masterminds, was filmed in 2014. David said he needed Kelly to drive to Loomis before the theft that night to remove a duffel bag from his parked pickup truck. All but one took plea deals, including Ghantt, who was sentenced to seven years in prison. A third surveillance tape was carelessly left behind, and the company was able to identify the man who robbed the vault as David Ghantt. Spunk. So the original gang was all totally shocked, Wydra said. 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Marine Fisheries Commission advocates for water quality, North Carolina the only state allowing unnecessary killing of sea turtles, 'Pagan' bike gang leader in N. Carolina sentenced to prison, Deputy cleared in shooting death of Gloucester woman, Beaufort amends charter to allow four-year mayoral term. Thank you so much. However, Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. Well they were in some sense celebrities, Gronquist said. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. Ghantt reported to Chambers that his supply of money was running low, but Chambers sent Ghantt just $8,000. Of course, this would all be a radical departure for him, and thoughts of his wife and parents did give him pause. Kelly had approached David with the idea in the summer, knowing he had a crush on her and winning him over with the promise that a shady friend of hers with Mafia ties would help them. Heist! personal/abusive/condescending attacks on other users or goading Afterward, everything became comical. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Remember why you were elected! He'd already done enough, he realized, to get himself fired and arrested, even if the gate prevented him from moving the money outside the building. David placed their odds of success at 85 percent, a confidence inspired by faith not just in his planning but also in his feelings for Kelly. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. 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 theyve ever had. 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. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]. The case resurfaced in the federal courts on Thursday, Sept. 1, when the U.S. Attorneys Office in Charlotte posted a public reminder in the case file of Loomis defendant Kelly Campbell that she had fallen behind in her restitution. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later Former FBI agent John Wydra, who helped crack the case, sat down with Channel 9 Reporter Glenn Counts to talk about the clues that led to solving the crime, and how the group got caught. You should definitely start your own blog, I highly recommend it. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. TWO TO ENTER GUILTY PLEAS IN ARMORED-CAR ROBBERY - Greensboro News and Jim Gronquist was Campbells defense attorney. David told Kelly they would have to control themselves and not spend the money too quickly, because the FBI could electronically trace a suspect's recent spending activity through bank papers, credit card records, and land transactions. The movie was called Masterminds and stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. David was supposed to be showing him the ropes of the job, which included cash pickups and deliveries. RELATED: When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later, How I held it together is beyond me, Ghantt said. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. uncanny, eerie, unnatural, preternatural, supernatural, unearthly, other-worldly, unreal, ghostly, mysterious, mystifying, strange, abnormal, unusual. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft [Jeff Diamant] on Amazon.com. Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. They located Steve and Shelley Chambers in their newly-purchased home at the top of a hill. So that was kind of like this once-in-a-lifetime thing, Wydra said. It just happened to fall on my desk.. He couldn't understand the gap, why he wasn't more successful, why he couldn't at least match the financial stability of his father, who earned a comfortable salary driving a truck. 6-Year Sentence For Kelly Campbell | The Seattle Times Aprs de nombreux seconds rles comiques au cinma, elle parvient percer en co-crivant et tenant le rle principal de la "About fourteen or fifteen million dollars," he said. Winds light and variable. The building was configured so vans could drive inside and pull up next to the vault. FBI video shows agents searching the Cramer Mountain home and finding stacks of cash. Loomis Fargo Heist of 1997 - History and Other Things They assumed that whoever was involved would keep the cash in a safe place, like a safe deposit box. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. At about 6:40 p.m., he went back inside. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. And Kelly thought he was funny. It was David who was hours away from committing the most daring act of his life, and she was going off about Steve being a serious guy? Discover the truth behind unexplained ancient mysteries, UFO mysteries, secret locations and paranormal events. Though Wydra is retired, 25 years ago, he was an agent with the FBI. David didn't appreciate her tone. You can garnish wages. The money weighed as much as a compact car and he did it all by himself. Masterminds (2016 film) - Wikipedia Human nature is a flexible part of life, Gronquist said. The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. She had attitude. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. You can seize property. They succeeded in removing $17 million from the safe. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer and advised the others not to spend the money lavishly. For people earning $8.15 an hour David's salary the jokes came naturally. First, they tapped the Chambers phone, and began listening in on February 11th, 1998. In the parking lot, David sat in his pickup truck smoking a cigarette and waving good-bye as the trainee drove home. LeVaughn Kelly Campbell (born July 23, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former football wide receiver. David Ghantt And The Ridiculous Loomis Fargo Heist "I was unhappy with my life. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. Loomis Fargo, the nation's largest privately held armored- car company, used vans to transport hundreds of millions of dollars a day belonging to banks and other businesses, stocking automated teller machines and storing money in the Loomis vault between deliveries. All of the defendants are out of prison -- the longest sentence was 11 years. The bag held his mobile phone and handgun. Conversations about stealing from the company weren't rare for Loomis employees. Chambers had told Campbell to do whatever she needed to do to get Ghantt to commit the robbery. How he felt shorted by life. He could even be famous, perhaps joining the ranks of legendary master thieves. Meanwhile, Ghantt's gang spent wildly and paid their family members and friends to hide money. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. Twenty years ago this Wednesday, a small group of people stole $17 million in cash from the main vault of a Loomis Fargo & Co. armored-car warehouse in west Charlotte. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. The actual crime itself required none of Hollywood's imagination. How Did A Model Employee Manage To Steal More Than $17 Million - Yahoo! He and his wife, Michele, moved from theirmobile homeinLincoln Countyto a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section ofCramerton. Its in the ether. And once he started, he didn't stop with one cartful. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. David knew this was important from having followed the recent news about a Florida man who had brazenly committed the biggest heist from an armored-car company in United States history, a loner named Philip Noel Johnson, who also had worked for Loomis. He loves his motorcycle and enjoys going fishing and, while hes sorry for the past, hes not ashamed to talk about it. "For the first year after a crime," he told her, "they're all over you, with six to ten agents. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy aToyota Siennaminivanin two cash installments. Afterward, she and David would talk just occasionally on the phone. Moving the money into the van quickly proved an onerous task. They also found several stacks of money with Loomis bands still attached throughout all the homes searched. Man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago now a 'normal guy How he and his wife had trouble communicating. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. 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. 'When you have money, you just have different problems': The Loomis Heist: The Oddball Crew Behind the $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft Learning from this error, David planned to leave the stolen money behind with his coconspirators while he fled to Mexico. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ). The site features a collection of unexplained, strange and odd mysteries. Heist!: The $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft - amazon.com La vie de David Ghantt n'a rien de compliqu. Now and again I run into blog posts that tends to make me want to get started on bloggin myself. The case resurfaced in the federal courts on Thursday, Sept. 1, when the U.S. Attorneys Office in Charlotte posted a public reminder in the case file of Loomis defendant Kelly Campbell that she had fallen behind in her restitution. He played high school football at Mays High School in Atlanta, and college football at Georgia Tech . He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. He was on a budget for clothes, even for work boots; he had recently needed to check seven stores before finding a pair in his price range. 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. Fact check: Is there much truth to the new 'Masterminds' movie? She had previously been making frequent small deposits to avert suspicion. When some friends stole a stop sign from a busy intersection, David made them put it back. None of the suspects had been in any serious trouble before this. 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. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later David Scott Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. You have permission to edit this article. "What would it take to convince you to do it?" 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. Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. David Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis), an employee of Loomis Fargo, robbed his own vault, left the $17.3 million in cash with his co-conspirators, Kelly Campbell (Kristen Wiig) and Steve Chambers (Owen Wilson) and fled the country to Mexico. The stated plan was for her to move to Mexico to be with him after the theft. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including avelvet Elvis. And they hit the jackpot -- FBI video shows agents recovering most of the stolen cash. Steve began talking about wiring money to overseas accounts, and even purchasing a nightclub. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. We dont have the manpower to track all that (restitution) money down I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. He had since held one low-paying job after another. Despite being caught on camera wheeling the money from the vault to the getaway van, David Ghantt makes off to Mexico before the FBI can blink. When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. "I've got a friend," she said, "who can hook you up with a new ID.". This website uses cookies and some data tracking to improve your experience and serve adverts, We assume you're ok with this, you can opt-out if you wish. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. The world is full of unexplained events, strange mysteries, and mysterious legends. 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. 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. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.'. All but one of the 24 defendants pleaded guilty, and the one who didnt take the deal was convicted. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. David Ghantt And The Loomis Fargo Heist: The Outrageous True Story Except for the kiss in the pickup truck a few weeks before the heist, Kelly had kept things platonic. 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Inside the truck, they found Ghantts ring and surmised this as a sign of Ghantts intention to end his relationship with his wife. In the end, the FBI was able to capture the original gang in five months, snaring 21 individuals for their participation in the crime. Sure enough, she called a few days later, around September 16. Copyright The Nashua Telegraph | https://www.nashuatelegraph.com | 110 Main St, Ste 1, Nashua, NH 03060 | 603-882-2741, Loomis Fargo defendants owe as much as they stole in 1997, Thats pretty standard in restitution matters.
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