What it does is put a ball and chain on that person for the rest of their lives, they are walking around and they are basically an indentured servant, Gronquist said. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. Ghantt, who by then was long out of prison, served as a consultant. 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. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. "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. " David and the trainee left the warehouse. He angrily hung up the phone at Loomis, Fargo & Co., his soon-to-be former employer in Charlotte, North Carolina. of violence, racism, anti-Semitism, or Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. You can seize property. 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. 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. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. However, Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. Since then, there have been numerous articles, books, documentaries and even a movie about this gang -- the gang that couldnt shoot straight. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. High around 65F. When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. David's share would be sent to Mexico, where he planned to hide and where he expected Kelly to join him. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. 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. He had since held one low-paying job after another. Meanwhile, Ghantt's gang spent wildly and paid their family members and friends to hide money. They involve Loomis armored car driver David Scott Ghantt. 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. While Ghantt trusted Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft . 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. 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, . Ghantt studied how to rob his employer and advised the others not to spend the money lavishly. 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. "Do you know how much there's gonna be?" The gang made numerous mistakes. Its in the ether. Agents raided safe deposit boxes, where they recovered more than $11 million. The unfairness gnawed at him, stirred by Kelly's questions. For example, 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. Campbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantt's feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. So the original gang was all totally shocked, Wydra said. The corporation handled armored transportation, ATM maintenance and other cash handling services, and had millions of currency stashed in the vault of the North Carolina branch. 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. Asked the purpose of his visit, Johnson had replied, "To visit friends. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. But after a year, they cut it down to two agents. 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. All but one of the 24 defendants pleaded guilty, and the one who didnt take the deal was convicted. Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. As beads of sweat formed under his red hair, he loaded up another cart and repeated the process. Sun, sand and beaches are all part of why Jacksonville is a popular destination. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. 12) Loomis Fargo heist- The aftermath Ultimately, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo bank heist. In Reservoir Dogs, released just five years earlier, the pawns in a robbery knew each other only by assigned colors: Mr. He called Kelly to say he was coming and hopped into the driver's seat of the loaded Loomis van. Was the temptation too much? For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. A parrot tattoo on her right ankle. All but one took plea deals, including Ghantt, who was sentenced to seven years in prison. Kelly called, using David's own cell phone, to ask where he was already, because she and the others were waiting outside for him. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. In all, agents arrested 24 people in the heist. Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter. 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. When they hung up, she called his pager and left the code 1-4-3, beeper-speak for "I love you," based on the number of letters in each word. They didnt expect it.. If it didn't work out, he could return to the United States later with a new identity. The friend was Steve Chambers, and Kelly said he knew his way around the world of crime. 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. My knee-jerk reaction was to be angry, and then the sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, Ghantt said. Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history. He could even be famous, perhaps joining the ranks of legendary master thieves. The case had gotten national publicity and was the subject of numerous articles, documentaries and even a movie. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Of course the problem was, the money belonged to someone else. 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. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. personal/abusive/condescending attacks on other users or goading Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. David didn't appreciate her tone. In the movie: Campbell invites Ghantt to a restaurant under the auspices of a date, but then springs the idea of the heist on him, as Chambers and two associates join the conversation from an . And once he started, he didn't stop with one cartful. One number is working in Campbells favor. The defendants received sentences ranging from probation for several relatives to over 11 years in federal prison for Steve Chambers. David would simply empty the vault and deliver the money to the others. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Clear skies. It has a certain feel, a smell and weight to it. When some friends stole a stop sign from a busy intersection, David made them put it back. Michelle Chambers received a few more months than Ghantt, because she had violated several bond conditions. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. But on Oct. 4, 1997, that no longer mattered and Ghantt took off with $17.3 million. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. They succeeded in removing $17 million from the safe. Her case closes in 2025. He knew his mother would be traumatized, shocked, and appalled. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward for his arrest and conviction. 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. Steve Chambers would keep the rest. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The FBI was inadvertently aided by the gang members extravagant spending. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. 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. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including avelvet Elvis. The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. He decided at that moment that if Kelly called again, he would go for it. The Charlotte area's economy was booming all around him, and he felt passed over. David's vision for all of this actually derived more from books than from movies. She had previously been making frequent small deposits to avert suspicion. Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. He quickly found out when you have money, you just have different problems, Wydra said. 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. Curiously, Payne had recently paid of his Visa in one payment and had been driving around new and rented vehicles for the past weeks. Though Wydra is retired, 25 years ago, he was an agent with the FBI. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Its in the ether. The bag held his mobile phone and handgun. 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. The unsolved crime mystery of Marilyn Sheppard. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. You can garnish wages. It should have been easy, but for some reason the gate didn't open for him. 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. Low 46F. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. One number is working in Campbells favor. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. It was 2:00 p.m. on October 4, 1997, and tension was building between two planners of what would rank high among the largest heists in United States history. In total, 24 people were convicted and all but one of the accused pleaded guilty. He knew it would mean leaving Tammy. 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 October 4 shift was lasting longer than expected, due to delays involving pickups and deliveries. 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. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) During one overnight shift, a bumbling conspiracy of thieves just west of Charlotte stole more than $17 million from Loomis Fargo. ", Johnson said, "Yeah, that's it. The towns booming construction industry attracts workers from around the country. 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. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth., White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money,, Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with., She will never get beyond the debt. As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to edit or Authorities were notified of the robbery in the morning, when employees couldnt open the vault. When I put that cash in the back of the car, by the time I got to the office the whole car smelled like that. In 1994, they moved to Gastonia, North Carolina, where they had grown up, and David took a job driving a forklift. The money weighed as much as a compact car and he did it all by himself. "What would it take to convince you to do it?" The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. Then, he proceeded to load 2,800 pounds of cash into a van. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy aToyota Siennaminivanin two cash installments. contact us to submit an unexplained mystery article, or to join the team on the email address below. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. (LogOut/ It wasn't how much you stole that mattered most; it was that you had stolen in the first place. 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. 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 did you conclude Yeah, Im actually going to do this? Counts asked. Afterward, she and David would talk just occasionally on the phone. The figures can be astounding. Chambers would then occasionally wire Ghantt money and see to his basic financial needs; when the heat was off, Ghantt was to re-enter the U.S. and the money would be split up among all of the co-conspirators. In addition to their extravagant spending, Michelle Chambers made the mistake of loudly asking a bank teller how much cash she could deposit in her account without it being reported to the feds, and then said, its not drug money.. He deserved better. (LogOut/ Jim Gronquist, Campbells defense attorney during the Loomis case, says the financial penalties levied against his client and her co-defendants are grossly excessive and unjust, particularly since most of the stolen Loomis money was actually recovered. 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. The van used to move the money was later located a few miles from the warehouse. 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.. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. Heist! But being the vault supervisor at Loomis Fargo had one perk -- exposure to tons of cash. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. 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. 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. Hes a family man with a wife and daughter. 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. Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. He loves his motorcycle and enjoys going fishing and, while hes sorry for the past, hes not ashamed to talk about it. It was released in 2016 and Wydra was invited to the premiere. While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. 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. You Save 23%. First, they tapped the Chambers phone, and began listening in on February 11th, 1998. So they went to Mexico and arrested Ghantt in order to protect him. While Ghantt waited for the heat from the robbery to die down, Chambers would send Ghantt small amounts of money. Heist! What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.. Still facing possible unknowns of other people involved, the FBI needed to gather more information without the suspects getting suspicious of them. You have permission to edit this article. He also stole both existing sets of vault keys and hurried into the manager's office, where three TV security screens and two VCRs were visible. She sounded incredulous. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. 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. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. she asked. The hillbilly outfit did more that just drop a few breadcrumbs. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. In all, they recovered $6.6 million. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. About six months before the Charlotte theft, on March 29, a total of $18.8 million was taken from Loomis, Fargo in Jacksonville, Fla., in what was believed to be the largest heist in U.S.. Jeff Diamant was a reporter for the Charlotte Observer when the heist took place. He and his wife, Michele, moved from theirmobile homeinLincoln Countyto a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section ofCramerton. The site features a collection of unexplained, strange and odd mysteries. The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. Spunk. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). "About fourteen or fifteen million dollars," he said. 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. If the American Dream involved being better off as adults than your parents were, David was experiencing a version of the American Nightmare. 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 and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. It all went down in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the man at the center of that heist, David Scott Ghantt, now lives in Jacksonville. uncanny, eerie, unnatural, preternatural, supernatural, unearthly, other-worldly, unreal, ghostly, mysterious, mystifying, strange, abnormal, unusual. The inspiration behind the major motion picture Masterminds starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, and Jason Sudeikis! The FBI says Chambers hired a hitman to tie up the ultimate loose end -- Ghantt. They knew Steve Chambers had worked as an informant in the past, and were nervous he would smell out an undercover. Money. 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. Worlds Biggest Heists London Hatton Garden 200m Diamond Robbery, Easter 2015. 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. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. To visit friends.". Ghantt had struck up a relationship with a fellow Loomis Fargo employee, Kelly Campbell; they continued to maintain contact even after Campbell left the company. 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. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. Four-wheeling. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. 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. I was relieved emotionally because I knew there was a good chance my luck might run out, Ghantt said. 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. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. Human nature is a flexible part of life, Gronquist said. 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. Of course the most famous thing inside the home was a velvet Elvis portrait. Eric Payne got out of prison in 2006 for his role in the heist and has since paid $11,357 on his $292,000 debt. She will never get beyond the debt. They hadn't slept together or even fooled around much, but he was ready to commit. I appreciate your kind words! He added that money can be a motivator for anyone. 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. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. After hanging up on her, David returned to work. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. Ghantt said he believes in redemption, and that his mistake 25 years ago brought him all the things that are important in his life today. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. 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. Available on Compatible NOOK Devices and the free NOOK Apps. This technically made it abank robbery afederal offense. 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,. He has been a staff writer for the Star-Ledger in New Jersey since 2000. Well she was a pretty happy-go-lucky person, he said. 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. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Enabling JavaScript in your browser will allow you to experience all the features of our site. He would then have the bulk of his share sent south of the border. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. Library Journal "highly entertaining." After marrying Tammy in 1992, he worked fueling airplanes at the airport in Hilton Head, South Carolina.