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. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. The Loomis Fargo Heist Over the next months, Ghantt, Campbell, and Chambers developed a plan. It, too, has changed hands several times. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. He even had to watch what he bought at the grocery store. LeVaughn Kelly Campbell (born July 23, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former football wide receiver. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. The same applies to trolling, the use of multiple aliases, or When some friends stole a stop sign from a busy intersection, David made them put it back. Some of that money is just gone. Thirty years! The unsolved crime mystery of Marilyn Sheppard. 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. (LogOut/ He angrily hung up the phone at Loomis, Fargo & Co., his soon-to-be former employer in Charlotte, North Carolina. It has a certain feel, a smell and weight to it. Since then, there have been numerous articles, books, documentaries and even a movie about this gang -- the gang that couldnt shoot straight. 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. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. This month marked 25 years since one of the biggest armored car heists in U.S. history. Most people are going to forgive you. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. He put on his best pair of jeans, a button-down shirt, and his nicest cowboy boots. 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. The unsolved mystery of the Van Meter Visitor a winged creature! Prosecutors say a vault. He was a hard worker, smart enough, and had graduated from high school. ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It's still the hot topic . What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done. He deserved better. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. But they'd stayed in touch, and now they were poised to attempt a crime like almost no other. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. 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 stayed at it until the vault was empty. 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. Pink, Mr. Blue, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blonde. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy aToyota Siennaminivanin two cash installments. Change). So the pieces were falling into place for investigators. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. One number is working in Campbells favor. Living with his wife, Tammy, in a mobile home, he had longed for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood that had come to seem luxurious, a pipe dream for him now. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. ", "I don't need any more friends," she'd shot back. Campbell led Ghantt to think she loved him and they would flee to Mexico together, but she actually wanted to make a better life for herself in the U.S. With the plan in place, Ghantt sent a newly hired employee he had been assigned to train home early (reportedly, at 6 p.m.) and then proceeded to load a little more than $17.3 million in cash (approximately $11 million of which was in$20 bills) into the back of a company van. The FBI became more suspicious after they interviewed Campbell for the third time. 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. A more immediate need was securing help to move the stolen money to safety the night of the crime. He could even be famous, perhaps joining the ranks of legendary master thieves. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. 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.. 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. 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. In preparation for what lay ahead, David had backed an unmarked company Ford Econoline van near the vault entrance and opened the van's back door. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. "I've got a friend," she said, "who can hook you up with a new ID.". : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft [Jeff Diamant] on Amazon.com. Its in the ether. In all, agents arrested 24 people in the heist. His collection case closes in two years. How did they get away with stealing more than $17 million? Meanwhile, Ghantt's gang spent wildly and paid their family members and friends to hide money. That was the thing that sticks in my mind to this day.. Who was she to be pressuring him? The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. You can garnish wages. For people earning $8.15 an hour David's salary the jokes came naturally. 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. He called Kelly to say he was coming and hopped into the driver's seat of the loaded Loomis van. Winds light and variable. All but one took plea deals, including Ghantt, who was sentenced to seven years in prison. remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats Then, he proceeded to load 2,800 pounds of cash into a van. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. Instead he became paranoid, especially after Steve Chambers put a contract out on his life. Over the next two weeks, David thought about it. In Reservoir Dogs, released just five years earlier, the pawns in a robbery knew each other only by assigned colors: Mr. The gang made numerous mistakes. contact us to submit an unexplained mystery article, or to join the team on the email address below. 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. Its in the ether. He loves his motorcycle and enjoys going fishing and, while hes sorry for the past, hes not ashamed to talk about it. 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. David's share would be sent to Mexico, where he planned to hide and where he expected Kelly to join him. Another name the FBI had become very interested in is Eric Payne. Later that year, he saw a newspaper ad for a job at Loomis Fargo. And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. 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. 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. 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. Well they were in some sense celebrities, Gronquist said. The loot would later be divided among David, Kelly, and Steve. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. However, Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. 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. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. From my standpoint, it was just a business deal, Ghantt said. The money weighed as much as a compact car and he did it all by himself. It wasn't how much you stole that mattered most; it was that you had stolen in the first place. The unfairness gnawed at him, stirred by Kelly's questions. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. If it didn't work out, he could return to the United States later with a new identity. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. After marrying Tammy in 1992, he worked fueling airplanes at the airport in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. The $17 million Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, North Carolina, was the second largest armored car robbery in U.S. history. I ride motorcycles and fish -- normal guy, Ghantt told Counts. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. The October 4 shift was lasting longer than expected, due to delays involving pickups and deliveries. He knew his mother would be traumatized, shocked, and appalled. The world is full of unexplained events, strange mysteries, and mysterious legends. The case had gotten national publicity and was the subject of numerous articles, documentaries and even a movie. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. You can seize property. There's just one hitch: Ghantt has entrusted the money to an oddball crew of accomplices who had wooed him into committing this massive theft in the first placeand who, he soon learns, are trying to take him out. 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. Worlds Biggest Heists London Hatton Garden 200m Diamond Robbery, Easter 2015. That way, outsiders couldn't see money being loaded. 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. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. CHARLOTTE (AP) During one overnight shift, a bumbling conspiracy of thieves just west of Charlotte stole more than $17 million from Loomis Fargo. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. She will never get beyond the debt. Money. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. 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. My knee-jerk reaction was to be angry, and then the sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, Ghantt said. When Ghantt called Campbell asking for more money, a plan was set in motion to take him out. In the end, the FBI was able to capture the original gang in five months, snaring 21 individuals for their participation in the crime. ", Johnson said, "Yeah, that's it. 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. "Everything's gonna be all right," she told him. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. He hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. Cool interesting stuff features everything odd, weird, bizzare, strange or unusual. But after a year, they cut it down to two agents. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). They could talk about anything, even topics he couldn't discuss with his wife. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. Kristen Wiig plays Kelly, who really wasn't that into David, but convinced him to take a fortune from Loomis Fargo in the fall of '97. Then 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, Wydra said. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Is this really about the needs of the poor? But on Oct. 4, 1997, that no longer mattered and Ghantt took off with $17.3 million. There was no reason to leave anything, he felt. "Just remind Steve," he said, "that I might be trouble my own self." 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. On the evening ofOctober 4, 1997, the Loomis Fargo & Co branch in Charlotte, North Carolina was in the process of being plundered. 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.. David and the trainee left the warehouse. EDITORIAL: Computer Science misses the need for digital literacy, N. Carolina legislators announce Medicaid expansion deal, EDITORIAL: Fighting political forces that sever family ties, Special-use to get overhaul: Commissioners, planners take a look, Cape Carteret seeking new police chief one month after hiring New Bern resident for post, How many in North Carolina are awaiting student loan debt relief? The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. So the original gang was all totally shocked, Wydra said. Once they were in custody, the overwhelming task of clearing out possessions possibly purchased with the stolen money began. Chambers had no intention of wiring any money to Ghantt and intended to have him killed to keep him from implicating the others. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. Steve's a serious guy.". Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. The bag held his mobile phone and handgun. She sounded incredulous. Another time, the day after a Christmas in the late 1980s, David and some friends planted all the discarded Christmas trees from the area in one neighbor's front yard. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. Her case closes in 2025. He realized his life wouldn't improve unless he did something drastic. The property has changed hands several times since then. The defendants received sentences ranging from probation for several relatives to over 11 years in federal prison for Steve Chambers. Its attracted workers like Ghantt. 2023 Cox Media Group. Sure enough, she called a few days later, around September 16. After hanging up on her, David returned to work. Jeff Diamant was a reporter for the Charlotte Observer when the heist took place. The inspiration behind the major motion picture Masterminds starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, and Jason Sudeikis! He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. Getting that off his chest calmed him some, and the conversation returned to the plan. Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. It all went down in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the man at the center of that heist, David Scott Ghantt, now lives in Jacksonville. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantts personal safety; they had learned of Chambersmurder for hirescheme. David got a kick out of her. 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 knew it would mean leaving Tammy. They hadn't slept together or even fooled around much, but he was ready to commit. I gotta go.". It should have been easy, but for some reason the gate didn't open for him. Steve Chambers would keep the rest. 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. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]. You can have your whole career and not have a case like that. 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. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. And they hit the jackpot -- FBI video shows agents recovering most of the stolen cash. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) You should definitely start your own blog, I highly recommend it. just generally being a jerk. Former Loomis employee David Scott Ghantt is accused of stealing the money. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Now and again I run into blog posts that tends to make me want to get started on bloggin myself.