loomis fargo heist kelly campbell loomis fargo heist kelly campbell

They located Steve and Shelley Chambers in their newly-purchased home at the top of a hill. Growing up, David's family went to Disney World, sent him to religious school, and shopped at places he couldn't afford as a self-supporting adult. As an adult, he preferred Shakespeare, Tom Clancy, and any book he could find about the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He called Kelly to say he was coming and hopped into the driver's seat of the loaded Loomis van. He hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. You can seize property. Two days later, when the FBI found the Loomis Fargo armored van, they discovered almost $3.3 million in cash left in the back of the van; it was later discovered that the thieves had miscalculated the sheer bulk of the small denomination currency, and that they simply left the cash that they could not take with them in the back of the van. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. He angrily hung up the phone at Loomis, Fargo & Co., his soon-to-be former employer in Charlotte, North Carolina. 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. "I've got a friend," she said, "who can hook you up with a new ID.". - Husband and wife Steven and Michelle Chambers, whose conspicuous consumption of a luxury home, a BMW convertible, breast implants and a $600 wooden Indian, among other purchases, helped the FBI solve the crime, were assessed $3.81 million and $4.8 million, respectively. The same applies to trolling, the use of multiple aliases, or Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. Now and again I run into blog posts that tends to make me want to get started on bloggin myself. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. In August 1997, Campbell informed Ghantt about an old high school friend of hers named Steve Chambers, who could assist Ghantt to execute a massive cash robbery of the Loomis Fargo vault in one night. Johnson had stolen $18.8 million earlier in the year, on March 19, 1997, only to be caught five months later, in late August, while crossing into Texas from Mexico to retrieve some of the money, which he'd hidden in a shed in mountainous western North Carolina. I made a joke once that was the hardest Id ever worked for Wells Fargo -- yeah, its a lot of work, Ghantt said. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. 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. 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. 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. She was five-foot-seven, had dirty-blond hair, and had worked with him for about a year at Loomis Fargo, until she left for another job in 1996. Over the next two weeks, David thought about it. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. 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. Probably very egotistical of me, I thought, Yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. be blocked or permanently banned without warning. In total, 24 people were convicted and all but one of the accused pleaded guilty. Now, at 7:45 p.m., with all the money finally inside the van, his aching muscles could take a breather. He said at first, they were very proud of what they had been able to do. "I'm busy," he said. My knee-jerk reaction was to be angry, and then the sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, Ghantt said. Accompanying her was Steve Chambers, who, though unemployed, had recently moved . His collection case closes in two years. The next day, before Mike was able to leave the country, the FBI arrested him in his hotel room. You have permission to edit this article. They assumed that whoever was involved would keep the cash in a safe place, like a safe deposit box. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. Steve was a serious guy? Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Perry identified the other six people arrested as Steve and Michelle Chambers; Kelly Jane Campbell, a former Loomis employee; Michael L. McKinney; Thomas Nathan Grant; and Eric Haley Payne.. Later that year, he saw a newspaper ad for a job at Loomis Fargo. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. A connection between each suspect began to emerge slowly, and as the intensity of spending grew, suspicion did as well. It was the second-largest. Ghantt, who by then was long out of prison, served as a consultant. It's still the hot topic . Booklist "Librariesshould consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel." Human nature is a flexible part of life, Gronquist said. This was several years before the advent of smartphones and the post-9/11 increase in federal surveillance of electronic communications, and public knowledge about this tracking was less widespread. Moving the money into the van quickly proved an onerous task. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft [Jeff Diamant] on Amazon.com. 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. 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. And they could barely afford the minimum payments, given the power bills, phone bills, car insurance bills, and home payments they had to meet. An additional tip reached the FBI when Michelle Chambers made a large deposit at a bank. 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. A couple by the names of Steve and Shelley Chambers also became people of interest in the investigation due to their extreme sudden increase in spending. In the parking lot, David sat in his pickup truck smoking a cigarette and waving good-bye as the trainee drove home. Thomas Grant, who served three years in prison for bank larceny, paid off restitution of $70,000; brother Eric Grant paid all of his $26,000; as did David Craig, $40,000; and Dennis and Sandra Floyd; $27,000. A more immediate need was securing help to move the stolen money to safety the night of the crime. To visit friends.". 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. A third surveillance tape was carelessly left behind, and the company was able to identify the man who robbed the vault as David Ghantt. "Do you know how much there's gonna be?" Hed never really been in trouble, he wasnt a career criminal, said retired FBI agent John Wydra. Then, keeping with the plan, Ghantt took $50,000 (the maximum that could be taken across the border by law without further authorization) with him and left for Mexico, winding up at the popularYucatan Peninsularesort ofCozumel. Ghantt, in order to conserve this money, curtailed his spending. Available on Compatible NOOK Devices and the free NOOK Apps. The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. 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. The affidavit described Chambers as a former FBI informant who had provided information on another Loomis armored car robbery that never materialized. But being the vault supervisor at Loomis Fargo had one perk -- exposure to tons of cash. Thirty years! Getting that off his chest calmed him some, and the conversation returned to the plan. "its a great readsuspenseful, often funny, just the thing for those wondering what it might feel like to have, as these hapless, small-town criminals did, literally too darn much cash lying around. " They also purchased expensive cars, jewelry and a breast enhancement or two. LeVaughn Kelly Campbell (born July 23, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former football wide receiver. Ghantt went to Mexico leaving the money with his cohorts, thinking that he could get his share back when he needed it. Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter. Still facing possible unknowns of other people involved, the FBI needed to gather more information without the suspects getting suspicious of them. Since then, there have been numerous articles, books, documentaries and even a movie about this gang -- the gang that couldnt shoot straight. 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.. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. 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 . [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]. In 1994, they moved to Gastonia, North Carolina, where they had grown up, and David took a job driving a forklift. They didnt expect it.. One number is working in Campbells favor. 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. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done. 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. "Don't double-cross us," the woman on the phone told David Ghantt. Ghantt reported to Chambers that his supply of money was running low, but Chambers sent Ghantt just $8,000. "I was unhappy with my life. 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. (LogOut/ Learning from this error, David planned to leave the stolen money behind with his coconspirators while he fled to Mexico. All of the primary players got fined millions of dollars --for example, Kelly Campbell was hit with more than $4 million, an amount that she will never come close to paying. He realized his bosses would know he had worked that day and that he was missing, but maybe without a video they would think he'd been held at gunpoint and taken hostage, or even better, that he'd been killed. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. Its attracted workers like Ghantt. David's vision for all of this actually derived more from books than from movies. Over 88% of the money has been recovered since the heist. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. "But you can still have a cigarette.". In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. Oh were not going to talk to anybody, theyre not going to be able to convict us, that bravado happens in the beginning and then it often gets worn down by the reality, Gronquist said. At that point, Kelly and David had known each other for two years. Ghantt had worked with the branch since 1994, and had been promoted from a driver to the vault supervisor. sole discretion of the site administrators and repeat offenders may Campbell, a former Loomis employee and one of the original masterminds of the caper, has paid off less than $21,000 of the $4,701,694.18 she was docked. 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. I was relieved emotionally because I knew there was a good chance my luck might run out, Ghantt said. 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. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. In all, they recovered $6.6 million. Outside of the building, Ghantt met up with Campbell, Chambers, and others who were involved in the plot, and drove off to a printing business called Reynolds & Reynolds in northwest Charlotte. The 2016 comedy movie, Masterminds is based on the story of the Loomis Fargo Heist. Conversations about stealing from the company weren't rare for Loomis employees. 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. Spunk. Tips had led the FBI to begin monitoring Chambers (and his wifes) activities, but it was not until the FBIrecorded a phone callfrom Ghantt in Mexico that the final connection was made. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. 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. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. Pink, Mr. Blue, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blonde. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. David and the trainee left the warehouse. In the first couple of weeks, they had heard both Steve and Shelley bragging about their new-found fortune, and spending remarkable amounts of money. uncanny, eerie, unnatural, preternatural, supernatural, unearthly, other-worldly, unreal, ghostly, mysterious, mystifying, strange, abnormal, unusual. Instead he became paranoid, especially after Steve Chambers put a contract out on his life. "I don't have time to mess with you. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. He shut the empty vault and set its timer so the vault could not be opened for two or three days. The defendants received sentences ranging from probation for several relatives to over 11 years in federal prison for Steve Chambers. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. true story that has captivated American audiences on the news and now on the big screen in the major motion picture, Masterminds. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. He hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. personal/abusive/condescending attacks on other users or goading It just happened to fall on my desk.. By this time, agents knew where he was and had a general idea who the other players were, so they went to every bank in town to see if any of them rented a safe deposit box. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantts personal safety; they had learned of Chambersmurder for hirescheme. She was five-foot-seven, had dirty-blond hair, and had worked with him for about a year at Loomis Fargo, until she left for another job in 1996. How he felt shorted by life. 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. Breakdown by congressional district, States' push to define sex decried as erasing trans people, North Carolina Supreme Court hears felony voting rights case, North Carolina House GOP modifies rules on veto overrides, N. 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Carolina House GOP again modifies rules on veto overrides, Murdoch says some Fox hosts 'endorsed' false election claims, Havelock officials warn public about alligator near Walmart, Cape Carteret buys new utility vehicle to aid in picking up litter, New taxi, shuttle business seeks license to operate in Morehead City, Report: Navy ships face growing maintenance delays, costs, Fisheries division to survey for-hire watermen, National Enquirer, ensnared in catch-and-kill is sold. The friend was Steve Chambers, and Kelly said he knew his way around the world of crime. In this outrageously entertaining book, Jeff Diamant, the Charlotte Observer's lead reporter on the case, offers the definitive inside account of this astonishing. That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. 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. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer and advised the others not to spend the money lavishly. She will never get beyond the debt. As beads of sweat formed under his red hair, he loaded up another cart and repeated the process. All of the defendants are out of prison -- the longest sentence was 11 years. 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. The gang made numerous mistakes. >> 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 heist on Oct.. I actually loved reading through this post. Steve decided to send his cousin, Nathan with money down to Mexico as a ruse, while Mike the bodyguard would follow behind to take care of Ghantt. The strange story of Mary Reeser Spontaneous Human Combustion. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. Hes a family man with a wife and daughter. They also bought aBMW Z3with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 statue of aNative American. 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. "What would it take to make you do it?". 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. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). 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. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Ghantt met up with the other members of the plot and offloaded the cash. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. This month marked 25 years since one of the biggest armored car heists in U.S. history. 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. "I'll need help moving the money, getting a new ID, and leaving the country," he told her. He was a hard worker, smart enough, and had graduated from high school. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. 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. The only other employee with him on this day was a trainee. Inside $3.3 million was located along with the two stolen surveillance tapes, apparently left due to the robber and his accomplices being sloppy, or in a hurry. 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. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all., WSOC TV facebook feed(Opens a new window), Part 2: Channel 9 speaks with the man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago, ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east Charlotte, mom says, ALSO READ: Leader of $3M check theft, bank fraud scheme in Charlotte area sentenced to prison, ALSO READ: Man released from jail, accused of robbing banks while wearing electronic monitor, police say, ALSO READ: Suspect from south Charlotte bank robbery found, CMPD says, NCSHP arrest driver accused of nearly hitting 2 students at bus stop in Statesville, CMS delays opening of new school meant to ease overcrowding, Mooresville orders removal of memorial at park after teens death, Chick-fil-A announces app data breach, tells customers how to protect personal information, Charlotte woman celebrates $1 million scratch-off prize, WSOC - TV Public File Contact / Program Director, WAXN - TV Public File Contact / Program Director. Most people are going to forgive you. He added that money can be a motivator for anyone. Of course the most famous thing inside the home was a velvet Elvis portrait. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy aToyota Siennaminivanin two cash installments. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. David didn't appreciate her tone. 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.. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. 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. 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. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. 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. He knew his mother would be traumatized, shocked, and appalled. I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. - 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. But things didnt quite work out that way. 2023 Cox Media Group. of violence, racism, anti-Semitism, or But this time on the phone, Kelly wasn't joking. The van used to move the money was later located a few miles from the warehouse. A customs inspector, asking routine questions of bus passengers, focused her attention on him when his answers reminded her of Tommy Flanagan, the pathological-liar character played by Jon Lovitz on Saturday Night Live. David would simply empty the vault and deliver the money to the others. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. Ghantt was working as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte in 1997, earning about $8 an hour and tired of his humdrum life. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. 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., Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it,, You can garnish wages. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case.