"I was unhappy with my life. Just after the last employees left that day, surveillance footage shows a man enter the vault, and begin to load more than 2,740 pounds in cash into a nearby van, totaling around over $17 million. The participants in the heist also spent lavishly on fancy jewelry, fancy cars and breast enhancement surgeries. Worlds Biggest Heists London Hatton Garden 200m Diamond Robbery, Easter 2015. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. Diamant, a journalist who reported on the case at the time, goes into meticulous detail on how the heist was pulled off and its aftermath. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. "I've got a friend," she said, "who can hook you up with a new ID.". The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. LeVaughn Kelly Campbell (born July 23, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former football wide receiver. 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. Still facing possible unknowns of other people involved, the FBI needed to gather more information without the suspects getting suspicious of them. They had initially agreed to control their spending for a year or two, in the belief that the government would vigorously track the spending habits of any and all suspects for at least a year before relenting. La vie de David Ghantt n'a rien de compliqu. He loves his motorcycle and enjoys going fishing and, while hes sorry for the past, hes not ashamed to talk about it. The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. sole discretion of the site administrators and repeat offenders may Theres no way to get it back,, And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. He added that money can be a motivator for anyone. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. There was no reason to leave anything, he felt. David and Steve had never met, but Steve had already secured somebody else's birth certificate and social security card for him and given it to Kelly to pass along. She will never get beyond the debt. Libraries without that edition should consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel. Why do we feel its so necessary to treat people like this, to say, OK, well just ruin the rest of your life because you made a bad decision., Punishment should not last a lifetime. "Just think about it," she said. Moving the money into the van quickly proved an onerous task. I dont know if Steve would have done it himself, but he definitely was capable of buying someone to do it for him and I think that was going to happen if we didnt step in and arrest Ghantt, Wydra said. As an adult, he preferred Shakespeare, Tom Clancy, and any book he could find about the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Their only intimate physical contact had been kissing on a mid-September night when they had driven her pickup truck to a field behind a shooting range in Gaston County to discuss their plans and the theft's chance of success. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Clear skies. In Gastonia, David would run into high-school classmates who had never struck him as especially smart. "For the first year after a crime," he told her, "they're all over you, with six to ten agents. They knew Steve Chambers had worked as an informant in the past, and were nervous he would smell out an undercover. About the worst he had done as a teenager was stealing a construction company's Porta-Jon with a friend, tying it to the back of a pickup truck, and driving around for about fifteen minutes. The walk-in vault was a fortified gray room, more wide than long, with shelves, cabinets, desks, and multiple pushcarts stocked with shrink-wrapped cash. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. This month marked 25 years since one of the biggest armored car heists in U.S. history. They also found several stacks of money with Loomis bands still attached throughout all the homes searched. The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history. Though Wydra is retired, 25 years ago, he was an agent with the FBI. Winds light and variable. In total, 24 people were convicted and all but one of the accused pleaded guilty. There are many robberies registered in the history of America, but the Loomis Fargo Robbery is known to be the second largest robbery in the United States. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. David and Kelly had driven to Rock Hill, South Carolina, and used the documents to obtain a fake ID that David would also rely on after the theft. And if that gives people out there a little bit of hope, then Ive served my purpose on this earth.. They hadn't slept together or even fooled around much, but he was ready to commit. Charlotte Observer"more than a crime story, and one that's worth reading." The bag held his mobile phone and handgun. 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Lacking a college degree, he found that his army skills felt meaningless in the 1990s job market. - 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. Ghantt, who by then was long out of prison, served as a consultant. 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. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. The gang made numerous mistakes. The Charlotte area's economy was booming all around him, and he felt passed over. She had attitude. I made a joke once that was the hardest Id ever worked for Wells Fargo -- yeah, its a lot of work, Ghantt said. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. I was relieved emotionally because I knew there was a good chance my luck might run out, Ghantt said. Now and again I run into blog posts that tends to make me want to get started on bloggin myself. You can seize property. When Ghantt called Campbell asking for more money, a plan was set in motion to take him out. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to edit or They located Steve and Shelley Chambers in their newly-purchased home at the top of a hill. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.'. They also purchased expensive cars, jewelry and a breast enhancement or two. 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. It all seemed unfair. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. (LogOut/ Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. contact us to submit an unexplained mystery article, or to join the team on the email address below. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]. Kelly Campbell, who one day visited a Toyota dealership to purchase a minivan with twenty-dollar bills. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer and advised the others not to spend the money lavishly. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. But with Kelly's new idea on the table, several dark realities converged on him. The plan was to exit through the building's electronic back gate, which consisted of horizontal metal plates that opened at the touch of a button. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. Learning from this error, David planned to leave the stolen money behind with his coconspirators while he fled to Mexico. : The $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Is this really about the needs of the poor? He angrily hung up the phone at Loomis, Fargo & Co., his soon-to-be former employer in Charlotte, North Carolina. He and Tammy could have one or two meals each week that he really liked, but the rest were hot dogs or Hamburger Helper. As a child, he had preferred reading to playing sports, and he would say, as an adult, that although he couldn't have told you "who was on first," he knew as a kid who the Egyptian god of the dead was. He is a graduate of Yale and has worked for the Connecticut Post, the Associated Press, and the Palm Beach Post. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. 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? Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. Expanded two-hour true crime story about the 1997 Loomis-Fargo armored car heist in North Carolina and the serio-comic fate of its bumbling underdog perpetra. 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. 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. Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. The robbery was committed by David Scott Ghantt who was the vault supervisor and accomplices Kelly Campbell, Steve Chambers, Michelle Chambers, Michael Gobies, and other four members. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. Who all wanted a Rambo movie which explored his time training as a green beret and his time serving in Vietnam as a prequel to first blood WATCH Antebellum 2020 FULL MOVIE. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. 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.. The FBI was inadvertently aided by the gang members extravagant spending. The reason David didn't know Steve's last name was so they couldn't identify each other to the police or FBI, should cops or G-men ever enter the picture. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. More than 2 million dollars are still missing to this day. Holding her hands behind her back, Michele Chambers was sentenced Tuesday to seven years and eight months in prison for her role in the $17 million heist from Loomis, Fargo & Co. She was also. "What would it take to make you do it?". 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. Driving away, he said he felt a mix of fear, confidence and excitement that he outsmarted the FBI. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. They succeeded in removing $17 million from the safe. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. The case had gotten national publicity and was the subject of numerous articles, documentaries and even a movie. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. Now one of the most wanted men in America with the FBI hot on his heels, Ghantt must figure out how to get his money, get away from a hit man, and get even. The plan was still on, but David remained steamed. The police almost immediately called theFBI, since 95% of the money handled at the facility was owned by banks. https://www.charlotteagenda.com/67457/loomis-fargo-heist-masterminds-movie/, http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/article104506876.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_1997_Loomis_Fargo_robbery#Company, http://retroclt.blogspot.com/2014/07/loomis-fargo-heist.html, . But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. 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. Loomis Fargo employees could not open the vault the next morning, and called the police. 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. I appreciate your kind words! In fact, he had recently finished a book about the FBI and felt it provided insight into the agency's investigative techniques, insight he thought could help the little gang succeed. In David's eyes, Johnson's big mistake was that he did it alone. them. Spunk. More calls between the two men, and also between Steve and Kelly Campbell, made it clear that the group was starting to turn on David Ghantt. 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. Hes a family man with a wife and daughter. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: But where will they park? Discover some of the worlds strangest ancient places. But that only tells part of the story. So that was kind of like this once-in-a-lifetime thing, Wydra said. personal/abusive/condescending attacks on other users or goading Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. 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. He and his wife, Michele, moved from theirmobile homeinLincoln Countyto a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section ofCramerton. In all, they recovered $6.6 million. Before the robber left Loomis Fargo, he made a trip to the managers office to remove two surveillance tapes in order to conceal his identity. He also took various measures to change his appearance, such asshaving, after a patron at a restaurant pointed out to him that he looked like the man who robbed a bank of $20 million.. He realized his life wouldn't improve unless he did something drastic. Asked the purpose of his visit, Johnson had replied, "To visit friends. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft [Jeff Diamant] on Amazon.com. Updated: 11:31 AM EDT October 4, 2022 CHARLOTTE, N.C. Tuesday is the 25th anniversary of the infamous Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, where a bank worker, with the help of two accomplices,. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. Thank you so much. For example, Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a. Of course, this would all be a radical departure for him, and thoughts of his wife and parents did give him pause. Booklist "Librariesshould consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel." The building was configured so vans could drive inside and pull up next to the vault. These cookies do not store any personal information. They also bought aBMW Z3with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 statue of aNative American. After hanging up on her, David returned to work. Also charged with money laundering were innocent relatives and friends who had co-signed safe deposit boxes. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantts personal safety; they had learned of Chambersmurder for hirescheme. But after one visit, she asked a teller How much can I deposit before you have to report it to the feds? followed by Dont worry, it is notdrug money, the bank filled out asuspicious activity report, which ultimately reached the FBI. Was the temptation too much? Ghantt met up with the other members of the plot and offloaded the cash. The friend was Steve Chambers, and Kelly said he knew his way around the world of crime. If a prank seemed dangerous, David backed out. All but one took plea deals, including Ghantt, who was sentenced to seven years in prison. She had attitude. Sure to be in demand as the book has been made into a movie, Masterminds, to be released in August.Michael Sawyer, Pine Bluff, AR. These weren't the hardest of criminals, and though there was logic to not knowing each other's names, they had derived some of their methods from Hollywood depictions of crime. The same applies to trolling, the use of multiple aliases, or "Don't double-cross us," the woman on the phone told David Ghantt. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. The money weighed as much as a compact car and he did it all by himself. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. 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. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Remember why you were elected! After discussing his job, his marriage, and his everyday struggles, they joked about Loomis and about how easy it would be to steal from the place. NASCAR. It should have been easy, but for some reason the gate didn't open for him. Well she was a pretty happy-go-lucky person, he said. He hated his job and his bosses, he'd lost hope in his marriage, he wasn't going to advance at Loomis, and he couldn't afford to quit to enroll in college. And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a trailer and upgraded to what would today be a multi-million-dollar mansion at Cramer Mountain. Since Ghantt was the supervisor, he sent his co-worker home first. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. Have a youtube channel or website similar? David was thin six-foot-one, one hundred sixty-five pounds and heaving the stacks onto the cart, pushing the cart toward the vault door, and then emptying its contents into the van was exhausting. The plan to. He had joined the army and earned an honorable discharge, but because of defense-industry cutbacks he hadn't been able to find a good job for himself. Heist! He allegedly hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. When did you conclude Yeah, Im actually going to do this? Counts asked. The plan was for Ghantt to commit the actual robbery and then quickly leave the country forMexico but to leave the bulk of the cash with Chambers. So he and some friends decided at the end of his Oct. 4 shift he would load a company van with more than 2,000 pounds of cash and just drive away. Steve Chambers would keep the rest. 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.. Cool interesting stuff features everything odd, weird, bizzare, strange or unusual. We went on a mission to calculate exactly how much size-wise the money was, $11.3 million in $20 bills, and it weighed over 2,000 pounds, former FBI agent John Wydra said. Over the next two weeks, David thought about it. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. You should definitely start your own blog, I highly recommend it. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a trailer and upgraded to what would today be a multi-million-dollar mansion at Cramer Mountain. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. Kelly called, using David's own cell phone, to ask where he was already, because she and the others were waiting outside for him. Probably very egotistical of me, I thought, Yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. He knew they were nervous outside waiting for him, but he also knew he wouldn't stop stealing until he had taken everything. Meanwhile, Ghantt's gang spent wildly and paid their family members and friends to hide money. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. "But you can still have a cigarette.". Once they were in custody, the overwhelming task of clearing out possessions possibly purchased with the stolen money began.
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