WebThis real-life . Soon everyone would know about the arrests in the $17 million Loomis Fargo heist. Twenty-one people were charged and convicted in the robbery, one of the biggest heists in U.S. history. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. When the rest of the Loomis Fargo employees showed up the next morning and found that they couldnt open the vault, they called the police. You might as well take it all, Ghantt tells me. 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. Most high schools offer a variety of history classes, so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. First, in January, he tried to get someone to take some millions down to Mexico. Meanwhile, David Ghantt was relaxing on a beach in Cozumel, Mexico. The True Story of David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo Heist, Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Score, check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. 9 Where did the masterminds live after the heist? Todd Williamson/Getty ImagesDavid Ghantt attends the 2016 after party for the Hollywood premiere of Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo heist that he helped carry out. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. 4 What is the largest armored car robbery? WebWord trickled in to the FBI that Ghantt had a romantic interest in a former coworker, Kelly Campbell, who one day visited a Toyota dealership to purchase a minivan with twenty 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. So he hatched a plan to rob his employers. I said, It comes down to picking the right day, and the right time of the month, and all that good stuff. I even told her, It wouldnt be all that difficult. By the time the month concluded, the couple had purchased a 7,000-square-foot stone mansion in a gated country club community. Across the border in Mexico, Ghantt was also living it up. They called the police, who brought in the FBI, classifying the heist as a bank robbery. To say nothing of their art purchases like the aforementioned velvet Elvis portrait and a painting of a bulldog dressed as General George S. Patton. Axios Charlotte is a local news initiative. And when everybody else voted to kill me, she voted with them, he explains. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. She laughed for like 45 minutes. Chambers was a small-time crook who suggested to Campbell that they rob Loomis Fargo. Four more people were also charged with laundering, bringing the grand total to more than twenty. Investigators also found Ghantt's pickup truck, abandoned at the warehouse. An inept hitman was sent to kill David Ghantt. She had previously been making frequent small deposits to avert suspicion. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Retro CharlotteFBI security footage of David Ghantt in the midst of the Loomis Fargo heist. Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. It all went down in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the man at the center of that heist, David Scott Ghantt, now lives in Jacksonville. And going to see the Mayan ruins. 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. hilary farr design assistant 9, Juin, 2022 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) When October 1997 began, Steve and Michelle Chambers lived in a double-wide trailer. Who are the actors in the movie Masterminds? Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. They picked me, he says with a rueful tone. The next morning, Loomis Fargo employees were unable to open the vault. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. After his release, Ghantt took a job as a construction worker and was eventually brought on as a consultant for the 2016 movie Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo Heist. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points, How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer. When Ghantt called Chambers to have the latter wire him more money, Chambers sent just a few thousand dollars. So Im like, Can you get a move on with my money? After a couple of weeks passed, I get a phone call from Kelly: Okay, Brunos coming to you, blah, blah, blah. So I get a phone call from this guy, and I tell him where to meet me. I was working sometimes 75-80 hours a week at $8.15 an hour. Without question, 1997's Loomis Fargo robbery has a home in it. Chambers wife, Michelle, bought a minivan in cash and began taking frequent trips to the bank to make deposits. By comparison, Ghantt served seven years in prison and was fined $26,000. WebAydin Properties > Uncategorized > real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. Things were spiraling fast. This is where it starts to unravel, Ghantt tells me with a wry laugh. She later hired someone to kill Ghantt, though the murder never took place. Not Ghantt. It happened on October 4, a Saturday. Just head on out. And so, he did. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars-worth of temptation. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including a painting of Elvis Presley on black velvet. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.. Web12) Loomis Fargo heist- The aftermath Ultimately, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo bank heist. Ridicule of those involved in what remains one of the largest cash thefts in U.S. history would soon begin. Ghantt didnt actually meet Chambers until the night of the heist, though, according to Diamant, who would go on to write a book about it. I hear her typing. You can read more at, Dilworth Coffee is coming to the Fifth Third Center. But his partners soon began to get greedy and were spending large amountswith Chambers and his wife, Michelle, even buying an exclusive mansion in cash. Ghantt simply got ready for work one morning knowing it would be his last day on the job. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. 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. The bigger the amount, however, the bigger the damages to victims that likely will never be repaid: Amy Paynes collection account was closed in 2020 with her having paid $53,000 of the $274,000 she owed. And I knew that by that time, Id be in Cancun no matter what. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it, Ghantt remembered later to the Gaston Gazette. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. Some days, the robbery seems like a memory from a different life, a choice made by a different man. Ask below and we'll reply! The first is that this was the same year, 1997, that the largest cash robbery in history took place within the same company. He was also a former FBI informant who had tipped the bureau off to a planned robbery of a Loomis Fargo armored truck that never came to fruition. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Pocketing $50,000 for himself, that man, named David Ghantt, hopped into a car of his own and headed towards Mexico. Ghantt and Campbell couldnt get to Mexico from Columbia, as there were no international flights being offered out of the hub, which they would have known, had they called ahead. But thanks in part to the film, the outlandish story of David Ghannt and the Loomis Fargo heist will surely live on for years to come. Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. Either way, intothe picture walks Steve Chambers and a group of friends that would set the plan in motion. Jump to navigation Jump to search. Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here: PrepScholar 2013-2018. Its heavy. Fed up, exhausted, and seeing a way out, Ghantt agreed. You see, theres a reason Loomis Fargo used armored cars to move large amounts of cash. For her part, Kelly Campbell spent six years in federal prison. She will never get beyond the debt. And youre like, Come on parachute. The film was produced by Brent Almond. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. Youre better at planning bank heists than David Ghantt. Truth be told, Ghantt had something of a crush on Campbell, and so, he told her exactly how hed pull off such a heist. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. Ghantt was missing and no one, not even his wife, knew where he was. Inside were, along with other personal items, his keys and wedding ring. It didnt take the local police long to put the pieces together. Ghantts wife was reportedly nothing like the bizarre, robotic fiance character in the film, for instance. When he finished, the van was filled with $17 million. Authorities began to hone in on the group and put a wire tap on Campbell's phones. The Dunbar Armored robbery Ghantt and his compatriots, it turns out, had underestimated how bulky money is. Marshals Service auctioned off the purchased items in Charlotte, most of which came from the Chambers and Cramers. He stayed at a luxury hotel and took scuba diving lesson. Basically, he needed a score to make his problems go away. Webbird adoption adelaide real life kelly campbell loomis fargo. Hes very articulate. Dont worry, its not drug money.. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. They got to work planning the straightforward heist that would rely on Ghantts existing access to the vault, fewer staff at the warehouse on the weekends, and the ability to use one of the companys armored trucks to make the successful getaway. Some of the friends and family members received parole, while Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. I wasnt attracted to him or anything, but he was a nice guy, Campbell said. Because the money in the vault was largely from banks, the crime was technically a bank robbery and thus a federal offense. 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]. The two struck up a friendship during work that would continue after Campbell left the I didnt even know about it and overlooked it, he said. All but one of the indicted pleaded guilty. As Campbell would later explain, If David got killed, there couldnt be any finger pointing. Ghantt called Chambers asking for more money, and was promptly arrested near Comuzel, which was a good thing for Ghantt, who had been targeted by a hitman hired by Chambers. He became the target of a nationwide FBI manhunt and was arrested five months later near the Mexican resort of Cozumel. 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. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP), DeSantis Awards $100M for Hurricane Erosion Recovery Efforts, Judge Orders Release of Video of Inmate Who Mutilated Self, Indiana Man Charged After Son in Diaper Points Gun at People, California Do Not Sell My Personal Information Request. Ghantt was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison. 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. This page was last edited on 7 January 2023, at 02:50. That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. They loaded the wine cellar with Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Steve hung a velvet portrait of Elvis Presley in the basement. Naturally, Ghantt started to run out of cash and turned to Chambers, who was annoyed by his requests for more money. Something was going on in Cramerton, the multiple callers said. According to Campbell, Chambers could help Ghantt execute a massive cash robbery of the vault at Loomis Fargo in one night. You know Loomis because of their armored cash vehicles, and when they acquired Wells Fargo Armored, turned into Loomis, Fargo & Co. Ghantt, who had been with the bank since 1994, was promoted from driver to vault supervisor in 1997, where he earned $360 a week and befriended Kelly Campbell (Wiig), who got Ghantt mixed up in the plans for the heist after she left Loomis. Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. Even still, he was 27, married and struggling to provide for his family. 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. WebThe Loomis Fargo Bank Robbery was a robbery of $17.3 million in cash from the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of Loomis, Fargo & Co. on the evening of October 4, Even though they drove away with less than they had initially intended, they still had more than $17 million in hand. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com, allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. I really enjoyed the little scuba diving trip. Chambers and his wife also made some cash payments on a few cars. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. wydd radio pittsburgh; dumb military bases Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. [citation needed], The defendants were the targets of many barbed jokes in Charlotte and across the country, in part because of their extravagant spending. And I think that makes it all the more funny, because it really offends my co-defendants. wydd radio pittsburgh; dumb military bases WebGhantt was joking in the breakroom with fellow Loomis Fargo employee Kelly Campbell. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. Did you know that the SAT offers subject exams, too? WebGhantt was joking in the breakroom with fellow Loomis Fargo employee Kelly Campbell. ];David Scott Ghanntt [Misc.] Learning about US history? CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ A woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored car company Loomis, Fargo & Co. We spoke to the FBI agents who investigated the case who say the real-life masterminds couldnt contain their spending-spree. Then Michele made a trip to the bank. 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. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. Chambers, his wife, and several of their accomplices were arrested the next day. David Ghantt had been a model employee for an armored car company before pulling off the second biggest cash heist in U.S. history, fleeing with more than $17 million in untraceable bills in 1997. For the New York State assemblyman, see. Although the history of the predecessor Wells Fargo & Company dates back to 1852, Loomis Fargo & Company was established in 1997 by the consolidation of Wells Fargo Armored Service and Loomis Armored Inc.; the resulting corporation employed 8,500 people and provided armored transportation, cash handling services, and automatic teller machine maintenance. The two struck up a friendship during work that would continue after Campbell left the The next day, the Chambers, Campbell, and some other notable parties were arrested in Charlotte. Eventually, Ghantt would return to the United States and the full sum would be split up between the conspirators. 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. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. So yeah, Ghantt continues, I took a bus from there to Atlanta, and then I hopped a cab from the bus station to the airport in Atlanta., Back in North Carolina, his accomplices were working as fast as they could to hide the $17 million. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesMichele Chambers 1998 BMW for sale following the prosecutions of the Loomis Fargo heist conspirators. Campbell was receptive and brought the idea up to Ghantt. Her sentence was delayed until Jan. 1 so she could spend the holidays with her family. $17.3 million in cash was robbed from the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of Loomis, Fargo & Co. on the evening of October 4, 1997. Within two days, the investigators found the van with $3 million in cash and the security camera tapes inside. 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. Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, though he was released on parole after five. Ghantt and one other employee were the last to leave. I just had to call you., Today, Ghantt cant look back on the whole ordeal without some degree of pride. The next day, Steve and Michelle Chambers, Kelly Campbell, and four others were arrested.[6]. But because he still owes millions to the IRS, he couldnt be paid. Chambers got 11 years. With the plan in place, Ghantt sent a newly employed co-worker home early (reportedly at 6 p.m) who had been assigned to train with him. Lindy Hop: The Dance That Defined The Golden Age of Jazz, Inside The Unsolved Disappearance Of Jennifer Kesse, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, David Ghantt attends the 2016 after party for the Hollywood premiere of. And it turned Steve into he thought he was Don Corleone all of a sudden.. The FBI was also surveilling Kelly Campbell and followed her to a pay phone that she used to place calls to Mexico. Ghantt and his compatriots, it turns out, had underestimated how bulky money is. 8 Who are the actors in the movie Masterminds? All of the cash from the Loomis Fargo heist was recovered or accounted for, except for $2 million. And then I could hear her laughing. 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. What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. the Loomis Fargo heist SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination BoardTM. WebThis real-life . Exciting. And Ghantt hadnt really thought about the physical challenge of moving such a large sum of money. He goes, My name is Bruno. But first they wanted to know if it was a robbery or a robbery-homicide. One number is working in Campbells favor. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. The FBI investigation was aided by the gang's extravagant spending. I had a four-hour layover there, and then from New Orleans to Cancun.. Going south, nobody really looks at what youre shipping. This is the person I counted as my friend. In fact, David Ghantt was about to commit the heist of a lifetime. [3][4] Its Charlotte office would be the victim of David Scott Ghantt and his confederates later that year. Turns out, most of the thieves and their accomplices have been about as effective coming up with their court-ordered restitution as they were hiding their original crimes. This article will teach you more about the SAT subject tests. 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. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. 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. And I said, Hey, man, I got this. There was, however, one problem with his plan. His new life in Mexico had begun. [7][8], Rocket Science, a 1998 double-disc album by Charlotte-based radio personalities John Boy & Billy, includes a track ("Marvin: The Loomis Caper") mocking the defendants. WebCampbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantts feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. Cool, I say. On July 10, Jon Daly joined the cast of the film to play an FBI agent. [1], This robbery was the second-largest cash robbery on U.S. soil at the time, as only seven months earlier, on March 29, 1997 in Jacksonville, Florida, Philip Noel Johnson stole $18.8 million from the Loomis Fargo armored vehicle he was driving.[2]. 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. WebHolding 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
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