But as he later recalled to the media, as soon as he stepped through those big-box doors, he realized he was flush with cash, and he didnt need to shop at Walmart ever again. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. She could walk under the trees, with the chickens and goats and dogs that live around her mobile home. Was that really what it was about? Im a very deliberate person. kellis@gastongazette.com 0:04 0:57 On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. Figure in Loomis Heist Gets Prison | AP News Loomis Fargo Defendants Owe as Much as They Stole in 1997 He couldn't even bear to stick around for the final tally--though when he left he didn't forget to take $6,000, the first cut of his expected $100,000 share. Scott didn't want to, but then he remembered the hundred-grand payday. They Had 17 Million Dollars and No Sense at All - AMW Magazine The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history. "He showed me a lot of money," McKinney said. Thanksgiving and Christmas were difficult. He told him McKinney was in Mexico to kill somebody. He recalled that another agent, Phil King, said, "Hey, there was an article in the [Charlotte] Observer about beeper codes. Her case closes in 2025. But McKinney never stopped trying to kill Ghantt although, initally, McKinney thought Chambers had paid for the hit over a drug deal gone bad, Diamant said. Kelly drove her pickup to a lot across the street from the Loomis building, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte. There used to be a consulate in Cancun. It's about the 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery also known as the "hillbillly heist" the second largest cash robbery in the history of the United States. Or does it sit in an offshore account, waiting for a prison sentence to end? This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Just under $14 million sat in an outbuilding behind his home, inside blue steel barrels. The FBI now knew Chambers had Loomis cash. I can take it.". When he finished, the van was filled with $17 million. "We're not the type that questions everything people tell us," Floyd said. He couldn't talk.". Chambers, who still lives in Gaston County and operates a gym, declined to comment. His new life in Mexico had begun. "I've learned that I'm a fortunate man," he said. Ghantt knew Chambers as Steve, but didnt find out that his last name was Chambers until the arrests were made. Purchases included a pool table, jewelry (including a $43,000 diamond ring), a minivan, $20,000 worth of cigars, and the 7,000-square-foot home on the side of Cramer Mountain. ", "I said, 'If you drive a truck, you're always in a financial bind. This meant a bump in pay, up to $8.15 an hour. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Kelly had recently left a job driving an armored-car for Loomis, Fargo & Co. "He's the one who brought it up first," said Kelly, a year after her arrest. The number of people involved had ballooned after Steve started asking friends and family to help him launder the stolen cash. To celebrate Halloween, about seven of Steve's friends, including Eric Payne and Kelly, gathered for a party at Steve's house. He drove to the edge of the Loomis compound, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. Hed be in contact. "For the first year, they're all over you. He wouldn't give me the opportunity to say anything else. In December, agents got the tie-in they were looking for: Kelly Campbell had bought a $30,000 Toyota minivan with cash and registered it to one of Steve Chambers's aliases. So yeah, Im kind of proud of it.. David Ghantt And The Loomis Fargo Heist: The Outrageous True Story By the time the month concluded, the couple had purchased a 7,000-square-foot stone mansion in a gated country club community. His name was Corey. To protect themselves, David and Steve didn't meet or talk. The phone rang: Kelly had a problem. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. Fact check: Is there much truth to the new 'Masterminds' movie In real life: False. But few could have guessed how spectacularly the heist would go wrong after the criminals initially got away with it. . They agreed that after the heist, David would immediately move to Mexico, alone, but Kelly would soon join him there, with her two children. Looking for Kelly Loomis? There were times when I drank really heavily.". The Evergreen State takes the top spot again in the U.S. News Best States ranking on the strength of its tech sector and other industries. And youre like, Come on parachute. Reach our Customer Contact Center by calling 877.877.0560 from 6:30 AM to 11:30 PM CT every day or by completing the provided form. He said every year he files his taxes and the IRS takes all of his tax return. Twelve hours later, at 6 that evening, Eric Payne drove a rented Budget van to his workplace, a graphics company on Performance Road in western Mecklenburg County called Reynolds & Reynolds, which was closed for the night and had a secluded parking lot where they intended to transfer the cash. The cash was covered with dog food. She was the group's only contact with David, and she was smoking marijuana "like other people smoke cigarettes," she said. Then FBI agent Wydra watched Steve's wife, Michele, deposit about $8,000 at a Gaston County, N.C., bank. Ghantt ultimately agreed to the plan, largely, due to a mountain of credit-card debt and in hopes of changing his life for the better. My love for my family is by far the most important thing in my life. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. Steve bought a truck, a Rolex and a motorboat. Each week, Michele deposited thousands of dollars in cash. They picked me, he says with a rueful tone. For reasons that remain obscure, Robert spilled the beans to David. . When she realized Ghantt never came home from work the night before, she contacted the police and filed a missing persons report. They paid for all of it in cash. About 20 ago, Campbell sent him a letter of apology, but he never responded. I hope everyone has moved on. Until, that is, he decided to hell with it he was going to pull-off the second largest heist in U.S. history. It had been drilled into my head that if you give me a team of five good people, I can go anywhere, do anything," David explained. It was the first Saturday in October. 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. She was a wife and mother with two children. He longed for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood, with its private religious-school education and Disney World vacations. "But I had to know.". In a word, "Teamwork. But he tried to keep his face averted, so David wouldn't be able to ID him. Were others involved? They planned to kill a man named David Ghantt, the guy who had made their extravagant new lifestyle a reality. Kelly Jane Campbell, a former Loomis employee; Michael L. McKinney . Im on the phone with Kelly [Campbell], and Im like, Hey, I really was expecting a package to arrive. How Bridgerton restarted buzz about her ancestry. Sandra Floyd, Michele Chambers's mother, remembers the first time she saw the house. David was excited, jabbering about their future together. But the idea of all that money pulled at her. I thought, Okay, if I get out of that bubble because the cops depend on that, even the feds my chances to get away go way up.. Find 145 people named Kelly Loomis along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. I told them, Take it, box it up, and youll be able to ship it to me in Mexico. Back in the 1990s, you couldve probably boxed up a hot pink elephant and shipped it to Mexico; no one wouldve ever noticed. LeVaughn Kelly Campbell (born July 23, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former football wide receiver. Steven Chambers [Misc. Working together, they got the gate open, then drove in a caravan to the Reynolds & Reynolds parking lot. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. She declined to take a lie-detector test. All rights reserved. The pager entry was 1-4-3. On March 1, David Ghantt left his hotel to do some laundry. More than 20 people ended up in the FBI's dragnet. But agents weren't ready to arrest Kelly and Steve. "It probably should bother me," he said. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Associated Press, BY MICHAEL GORDON, The Charlotte Observer. Mexican police, Interpol officers and an FBI agent were watching him. 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. You've violated that trust. Will Vin Sant Leave You Jacked or Scammed? Kelly relayed his message to Steve. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. David kissed his sleeping wife on the cheek on the morning of Oct. 4. His mobile home was nicely furnished, on eight acres with a stream in the back. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist - molecularrecipes.com They heard Michele brag about her $43,000 ring. Things started to go south the night of the robbery. There, Scott and Eric paced the floor as Steve tried to calm them down. More agents waited outside to arrest them. I was burned out and just didn't know it. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. He flew in an ultra-light plane. Not until David was gone did Scott realize he didn't know which key to use. They ditched the Loomis van, then drove the cash-heavy Budget van to Steve's mobile home in Lincoln County, where his wife, Michele, waited with a calculator and rubber bands. He didn't want to abandon his parents. Scott was so nervous, he said, that he couldn't help. A week later, another informant told the FBI that Eric Payne had quit his job at a printing company soon after the heist and was spending money he probably hadn't earned legally. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. David quickly realized he was the intended victim. On October 5, 1997, FBI agents gathered at the Loomis, Fargo & Co. warehouse in Charlotte, North Carolina, to watch a security videotape of a man loading stacks of cash into a pushcart and wheeling them from the vault. If you want to go ahead and go, I got it. Steve was sentenced to 11 years 3 months in prison. He partied, met women, drank, skied and hung out at the beach. Purchases included a pool table, jewelry (including a $43,000 diamond ring), a minivan, $20,000 worth of cigars, and the 7,000-square-foot home on the side of Cramer. Exhibit A was that Steve had no steady job but plenty of cash. "Every time my conscience would start bothering me," Kelly recalled, "I'd smoke another joint and forget about it.". This story was originally published October 3, 2016, 9:12 PM. Ghantt:Since I still owe the federal government money I can't get paid. Eric watched. ". When he was done, the man drove off to a nearby printing press, where the money was distributed into private vehicles amongst a handful of people. I told the lead investigator I was glad to see him.. Basic and voluntary life insurance plan. "Things I always wanted to do, but never had the time or the money," he said. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward after the theft. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. Hes very articulate. Some of that money is just gone. Back in North Carolina, Ghantts former accomplices were living high on the hog. Question: You went to Mexico. It was an ear-biting, Pierce Brosnan-loving, comet-obsessed world, and were here to relive every minute of it. And I was thinking about just showing up there. 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. David, the international fugitive, lived it up, too--for a while. Purchases included a pool table, jewelry (including a $43,000 diamond ring), a minivan, $20,000 worth of cigars, and the 7,000-square-foot home on the side of Cramer. When October 1997 began, Steve and Michelle Chambers lived in a double-wide trailer. Ghantt and one other employee were the last to leave. A couple weeks pass, and I call again, Hey, Id like to get some more money. When he landed in Cancun, his first stop was Walmart. Loomis employees drive the very core of our business. If they could just sit on the money until then, he said, they'd be fine. 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. Then another. They hatched the idea half-jokingly, over a game of Uno, never dreaming they were about to make Bonnie and Clyde look like bottom feeders. Steve told me to tell [David] whatever was necessary to keep him happy.". As it turned out, Ghantt was zipping up his scuba suit in Mexico. Why did this Charlotte engineer leave her job? ];David Scott Ghanntt [Misc.] Exciting. Throughout the multi-year-long case and subsequent trials, journalists often referred to Ghantt and the others as trailer trash and hillbillies. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. That week, the FBI designated the theft its 142nd "major case," putting it on a list--begun in the 1970s--that includes such other infamous crimes as the World Trade Center bombing. Question: Do you ever think you could have been killed? The mystery 1-4-3 caller had been Kelly, though agents didn't know it yet. He took bus tours of Mayan ruins. He would pay McKinney $250,000, half upfront. "We kept going, '1-4-3, 1-4-3,' " recalled Vic O'Korn, assistant special agent in charge of Charlotte's FBI office. They put up mauve wallpaper. Then another. Ghantt fled to Mexico. After a Gulf War stint in the Army, David got married in 1992. That October, the Chamberses' bank accounts ballooned. Steve had another conversation with Kelly about killing David. Loomis - Home Now he offered to pay him to carry cash to David--Steve said he was a friend hiding out after a bad drug deal, McKinney recalled. "I" has one letter. After a couple of weeks, Ghantt and the rest of the heist team were ready to strike. DUMB & - The Washington Post As with many recent historic events, this one had been caught on videotape, a fact that a few dozen Charlotte FBI agents would learn in a hastily organized Sunday morning meeting. Two days after theyd robbed the Loomis Fargo truck the very same day the police found the abandoned van in the woods Steve and Michelle Chambers walked into a bank and deposited their cut of the stolen money into their account. In mid-November, McKinney carried $10,000 to Cancun but wound up spending most of it on himself. So I was glad it was over. Kelly had no problem fanning the flames of their old flirtation. The best states in the U.S. come from coast to coast. David trusted her. Gaston County residents remember how that worked out. You might as well go all the way now.". Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. And I think that makes it all the more funny, because it really offends my co-defendants. With the help of Aldo, a Mexican waiter he had befriended, David found a beach apartment in Cancun. They also purchased tanning beds, a pool table, a Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle and all kinds of expensive furniture. . Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. Theres less security. In the wee hours of the morning, Chambers and the Erics drove back to the town of Vale, North Carolina, and holed up in a double-wide trailer while counting their cash. Then, on a mid-September day, as he reviewed a credit card bill, David did some math. Question: How much of 'Masterminds' is true? I didnt pick the heist team. I did every touristy thing you could possibly do while I was down there. That was great. Sweat soaked David's uniform. Back then, it was one of the hotspots for hiding money. Ghantt planned to live off the interest for the rest of his life. There was a little voice in my head that said, 'Don't do it. Now, I kind of know something is fishy., Alone in Mexico with limited cash, Ghantt thought about turning himself in. The FBI's final challenge is finding the remaining $2 million. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. Two more defendants in the $17 million Loomis Fargo & Co. robbery last year have agreed to plead guilty, and a third person entered a formal plea in court. They cursed. Dental plans . At one point, the hoodlum shows up and Ghantt is wearing a Jerome Bettis Pittsburgh Steelers jersey; the hoodlums favorite team is the Steelers, and he caves and tells Ghantt that McKinney wants him dead. Some days, the robbery seems like a memory from a different life, a choice made by a different man. They sweated, though the night was cool. Basically, he needed a score to make his problems go away. 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. Its hilarious. Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. Kelly would only discover later that leading up to the heist, Steve had been writing bad checks, $17,000 worth, for which he would later be convicted. Truth be told, Ghantt had something of a crush on Campbell, and so, he told her exactly how hed pull off such a heist. Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. About 5:45 a.m., he got into his pickup and began the 45-minute drive to work in Charlotte. You can garnish wages. 25th anniversary of the incredible Loomis Fargo bank heist | wcnc.com Heist: The Oddball Crew Behind the $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft by Zach always plays that bumbling kind of lunatic, but hes not, Ghantt says. But as soon as he drove off, I went right back in and opened the vault. The Columbia airport had no available flights. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. She tried to apologize for the murder plot. I knew I was going to be the prime suspect. First, in January, he tried to get someone to take some millions down to Mexico. Ghantt didn't actually meet Chambers until the night of the heist, though, according to Diamant, who would go on to write a book about it.The . Loomis Fargo Defendants Owe as Much as They Stole in 1997, 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. Steve Chambers has told agents the missing cash was stolen from a shed in Lincoln County. Things were spiraling fast. She could spend time with her children and parents. October was "a blast," he said.