Charlotte Observer"more than a crime story, and one that's worth reading." Still facing possible unknowns of other people involved, the FBI needed to gather more information without the suspects getting suspicious of them. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. personal/abusive/condescending attacks on other users or goading them. They also bought aBMW Z3with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 statue of aNative American. Once they were in custody, the overwhelming task of clearing out possessions possibly purchased with the stolen money began. 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. 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. 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. He hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east. Unexplained Mysteries - owned by Aliens since 2011. Since then, there have been numerous articles, books, documentaries and even a movie about this gang -- the gang that couldnt shoot straight. We went on a mission to calculate exactly how much size-wise the money was, $11.3 million in $20 bills, and it weighed over 2,000 pounds, former FBI agent John Wydra said. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft [Jeff Diamant] on Amazon.com. The friend was Steve Chambers, and Kelly said he knew his way around the world of crime. 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. Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. 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. David said he needed Kelly to drive to Loomis before the theft that night to remove a duffel bag from his parked pickup truck. Four-wheeling. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. Afterward, everything became comical. The van used to move the money was later located a few miles from the warehouse. Some of that money is just gone. 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. David's share would be sent to Mexico, where he planned to hide and where he expected Kelly to join him. In his youth, his mother had taken him to Sears and JCPenney, but as a man he shopped at Walmart, and while he knew there was nothing wrong with that, he wished he could afford more. Probably very egotistical of me, I thought, Yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. So the original gang was all totally shocked, Wydra said. Prosecutors say a vault. The unsolved crime mystery of Marilyn Sheppard. In order to receive more evidence, the FBI decided to listen. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. 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. The movie was called Masterminds and stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to edit or (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. The police almost immediately called theFBI, since 95% of the money handled at the facility was owned by banks. When Ghantt called Campbell asking for more money, a plan was set in motion to take him out. High around 65F. Its in the ether. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. How did they get away with stealing more than $17 million? People dont seem to understand human nature. These cookies do not store any personal information. Her case closes in 2025. Library Journal "highly entertaining." Also charged with money laundering were innocent relatives and friends who had co-signed safe deposit boxes. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. '. 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. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Is this really about the needs of the poor? Inside the truck, they found Ghantts ring and surmised this as a sign of Ghantts intention to end his relationship with his wife. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Remember why you were elected! Copyright The Nashua Telegraph | https://www.nashuatelegraph.com | 110 Main St, Ste 1, Nashua, NH 03060 | 603-882-2741, Loomis Fargo defendants owe as much as they stole in 1997, Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. she asked. Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. In 1994, they moved to Gastonia, North Carolina, where they had grown up, and David took a job driving a forklift. 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. He angrily hung up the phone at Loomis, Fargo & Co., his soon-to-be former employer in Charlotte, North Carolina. In fact, he had recently finished a book about the FBI and felt it provided insight into the agency's investigative techniques, insight he thought could help the little gang succeed. In the end, the FBI was able to capture the original gang in five months, snaring 21 individuals for their participation in the crime. You can garnish wages. At about 6:40 p.m., he went back inside. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. Though Wydra is retired, 25 years ago, he was an agent with the FBI. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. The building was configured so vans could drive inside and pull up next to the vault. Its said the current owner now has it in storage in Phoenix, Arizona. They also found several stacks of money with Loomis bands still attached throughout all the homes searched. But after a year, they cut it down to two agents. be blocked or permanently banned without warning. 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. The old man me would never survive that, Id have a heart attack.. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. Thirty years! Though much of the cash was already stacked on pushcarts in the vault, other stacks were on shelves or the floor, and they were heavy. "Everything's gonna be all right," she told him. Available on Compatible NOOK Devices and the free NOOK Apps. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including avelvet Elvis. The money weighed as much as a compact car and he did it all by himself. Her case closes in 2025. The defendants received sentences ranging from probation for several relatives to over 11 years in federal prison for Steve Chambers. You can seize property. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. 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. 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. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. 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. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. The Chambers home is now gated, which means Channel 9 crews cant drive up to it like we used to. While Ghantt waited for the heat from the robbery to die down, Chambers would send Ghantt small amounts of money. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. Steve Chambers would keep the rest. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Some of that money is just gone. A more immediate need was securing help to move the stolen money to safety the night of the crime. 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. Enabling JavaScript in your browser will allow you to experience all the features of our site. The FBI says Chambers hired a hitman to tie up the ultimate loose end -- Ghantt. So its one thing to go from up here, thought, to action, he said. He added that he would be able to send the trainee home at about 6:00 p.m. and would then need about an hour to load the money from carts, shelves, and the floor into a Loomis company van. The loot would later be divided among David, Kelly, and Steve. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. After marrying Tammy in 1992, he worked fueling airplanes at the airport in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. Except for the kiss in the pickup truck a few weeks before the heist, Kelly had kept things platonic. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. But on Oct. 4, 1997, that no longer mattered and Ghantt took off with $17.3 million. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: But where will they park? The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. They swept the surrounding counties, locating Kelly Campbell and Eric Payne in their homes. Then, he proceeded to load 2,800 pounds of cash into a van. 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.. Since Ghantt was the supervisor, he sent his co-worker home first. In David's eyes, Johnson's big mistake was that he did it alone. Cool interesting stuff features everything odd, weird, bizzare, strange or unusual. Kelly called, using David's own cell phone, to ask where he was already, because she and the others were waiting outside for him. He also took various measures to change his appearance, such asshaving, after a patron at a restaurant pointed out to him that he looked like the man who robbed a bank of $20 million.. He had approached her inside the chain-link fence that surrounded the building and said with a flirty smile, "If you give me a cigarette, I'll be your friend. uncanny, eerie, unnatural, preternatural, supernatural, unearthly, other-worldly, unreal, ghostly, mysterious, mystifying, strange, abnormal, unusual. "But you can still have a cigarette.". Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. 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. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. As an adult, he preferred Shakespeare, Tom Clancy, and any book he could find about the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 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. He knew it would mean leaving Tammy. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. He said at first, they were very proud of what they had been able to do. 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. That movie, Masterminds, was filmed in 2014. Have a youtube channel or website similar? This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. At 2:20 p.m., the phone rang; it was Kelly again. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. FBI video shows the agency searching that home and finding drawers full of cash. Ghantt didnt know the full extent of what was happening back home -- how that lay low plan turned into a flurry of extravagant spending. 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. Low 46F. You can garnish wages. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. There was no reason to leave anything, he felt. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer and advised the others not to spend the money lavishly. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. He and Tammy could have one or two meals each week that he really liked, but the rest were hot dogs or Hamburger Helper. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. 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. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. But being the vault supervisor at Loomis Fargo had one perk -- exposure to tons of cash. The next day, before Mike was able to leave the country, the FBI arrested him in his hotel room. After discussing his job, his marriage, and his everyday struggles, they joked about Loomis and about how easy it would be to steal from the place. The investigation ultimately resulted in the conviction of eight people directly involved, as well as sixteen others who had indirectly helped them. Their most important conversation occurred one afternoon in August 1997 after Kelly paged him at work. Conversations about stealing from the company weren't rare for Loomis employees. This technically made it abank robbery afederal offense. In all, they recovered $6.6 million. She had attitude. She will never get beyond the debt. For people earning $8.15 an hour David's salary the jokes came naturally. Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. Hed never really been in trouble, he wasnt a career criminal, said retired FBI agent John Wydra. 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. 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. 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. He has a regular life now, but 25 years ago, Ghantt was the mastermind behind the third-largest bank robbery in U.S. history. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. 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. "I was unhappy with my life. Instead he became paranoid, especially after Steve Chambers put a contract out on his life. In the parking lot, David sat in his pickup truck smoking a cigarette and waving good-bye as the trainee drove home. "About fourteen or fifteen million dollars," he said. 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. 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. Michelle Chambers received a few more months than Ghantt, because she had violated several bond conditions. 2023 Cox Media Group.