No dry runs, no rehearsals. The next morning, Loomis Fargo employees were unable to open the vault. After his release, Ghantt took a job as a construction worker and was eventually brought on as a consultant for the 2016 movie Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo Heist. so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. And it turned Steve into he thought he was Don Corleone all of a sudden.. Or that hed gotten lucky gambling. Loomis Fargo employee David Ghantt and his partners nearly pulled off the perfect crime, but it would be their lavish spending, and an alleged murder plot, that would be their undoing. He stayed at a luxury hotel and took scuba diving lesson. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. When she realized Ghantt never came home from work the night before, she contacted the police and filed a missing persons report. All the while, Ghantt prepared himself for the task at hand. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it, Ghantt remembered later to the Gaston Gazette. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. speedway of nations manchester 2021. rossignol skis experience 88 They also bought a BMW Z3 with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 cigar store Indian. I hear her typing. Authorities began to hone in on the group and put a wire tap on Campbell's phones. All of the defendants except for one pleaded guilty and accepted their sentences. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points, How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer, Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests. Hed be in contact. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. The number of people involved had ballooned after Steve started asking friends and family to help him launder the stolen cash. An FBI criminal investigation ultimately resulted in the arrest and conviction of eight people directly involved in the heist, as well as sixteen others who had indirectly helped them, and the recovery of approximately 88% of the stolen money. Given the presence of the surveillance tapes and a gun belonging to Ghantt, they started with Ghantts phone and pager records and discovered a pattern they attributed to an accomplice. At that same time, Steve was growing sick of the calls to send more money to Ghantt, and was looking for a way to end that issue. David Ghantt was the vault supervisor for Loomis, Fargo & Co. armored cars, which managed the transportation of large sums of cash between banks in North Carolina. I hit the local library the thing that we used to do before Google, Ghantt says with a small laugh. The Dunbar Armored robbery It was nearly the perfect crime, but while Ghantt fled to Mexico to lay low, his partners lavish spendingand their own alleged plans for murderwould ultimately be the groups demise. The They had initially agreed to control their spending for a year or two, in the belief that the government would vigorously track the spending habits of any and all suspects for at least a year before relenting. According to local author David Aaron Moore, the plan went like this: Ghantt would go to work as normal, leave at the same time as the last employee and return to the vault, where he would load carts with bags of money before puttingthem into a van. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. He then proceeded to load about $17.3 million in cash (approximately $11 million of which was in $20 bills) into the back of a company van. I mentioned it to Kelly. The next morning, Loomis Fargo employees were unable to open the vault. For his part, Ghantt was now officially on his way to Mexico, his future stretched out before him. The agents tapped the phone, and it didnt take long to locate Ghantt after that. [1] Tips had led the FBI to begin monitoring Chambers's (and his wife's) activities, but it was not until the FBI recorded a phone call from Ghantt in Mexico that the final connection was made. When he finished, the van was filled with $17 million. But as soon as he drove off, I went right back in and opened the vault. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy a Toyota Sienna minivan in two cash installments. After years of reflection and time in prison to work on himself, Ghantt was able to find a way to a better version of himself. A couple weeks pass, and I call again, Hey, Id like to get some more money. With the plan in place, Ghantt sent a newly employed co-worker home early (reportedly at 6 p.m) who had been assigned to train with him. Together with his wife, Chambers bought a new luxury home (upgrading from his mobile home), a BMW Z3, and some extravagant furnishings. Chambers wife, Michelle, bought a minivan in cash and began taking frequent trips to the bank to make deposits. followed by "Don't worry, it is not drug money," the bank filled out a suspicious activity report, which ultimately reached the FBI. 1997 Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle for sale at auction of items bought after Loomis, Fargo armored car facility heist by Steven Chambers, wife Michele, Kelly Jane Campbell & David Scott Ghanntt (Photo by Will And Deni McIntyre/Getty Images) Its hilarious. The plan was for Ghantt to commit the robbery and then quickly leave the country for Mexico but to leave the bulk of the cash with Chambers. While Ghantt moved to Mexico to let things cool down after the heist, his robbery cohorts stayed in North Carolina with the bulk of the money. Its easy to get somebody to do something if you know that they are that infatuated with you.. In addition to his phone calls with Ghantt, Chambers began extravagantly spending the money, even though the co-conspirators had agreed to lay low for a year or two. I flew from Atlanta to New Orleans. You can seize property. Ultimately, though, the heist wasnt Ghantts idea, which meant he didnt decide who else was involved. WebAydin Properties > Uncategorized > real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. Ghantt worked at Loomis Fargos regional office vault in Charlotte. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. By then Id figured out that Bruno was up to no good, and that Id probably never seen any more of my money. Instead, the bandits just started throwing as much money as they could into the van until they couldnt fit anymore. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. I said, Listen, You all need to get your shit together, or Im just going to walk over here to the government building and tell them who the fuck I am. That lit a little fire under her ass, for a bit.. 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. There used to be a consulate in Cancun. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. Campbell knew theyd need the help of the warehouses vault supervisor, who just happened to have a crush on her, and she called Ghantt to ask for his help. More than 95% of the cash that stolen was accounted for. He hadnt checked ahead of time if the airport had any available flights, let alone if it would even be open. Over the next months, Ghantt, Campbell, and Chambers developed a plan. From the beginning, the FBIs prime suspect was David Ghantt. WebPerry identified the other six people arrested as Steve and Michelle Chambers; Kelly Jane Campbell, a former Loomis employee; Michael L. McKinney; Thomas Nathan Grant; They called the police, who brought in the FBI, classifying the heist as a bank robbery. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. He became the target of a nationwide FBI manhunt and was arrested five months later near the Mexican resort of Cozumel. Cool, I say. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. See all of the stories here. But it didnt really hit me until later., On March 2nd, when the FBI agents walked up to Ghantt in Playa del Carmen and told him he was under arrest, Ghantt was relieved. I was just going to get the money into the van. 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 loved it. Eventually, Ghantt called in from Mexico, seeking more money, and the FBI officially recognized Chambers as a co-conspirator. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. So Im like, Can you get a move on with my money? After a couple of weeks passed, I get a phone call from Kelly: Okay, Brunos coming to you, blah, blah, blah. So I get a phone call from this guy, and I tell him where to meet me. Then, I started loading the van., Money, when bound in bulk and stacked in canvas bags, is heavier than you might expect. 7 Is the movie Masterminds based on a true story? ];Kelly Jane Campbell [Misc. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. Things started to go south the night of the robbery. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. Inside were, along with other personal items, his keys and wedding ring. [7][8], Rocket Science, a 1998 double-disc album by Charlotte-based radio personalities John Boy & Billy, includes a track ("Marvin: The Loomis Caper") mocking the defendants. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? Exciting. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. David Ghantt attends the after party for the Premiere Of Relativity Media's "Masterminds" on September 26, 2016 in Hollywood, California. WebTo that end, Campbell brought in her childhood friend Steve Chambers, who was characterized in the local press as a small-time drug dealer and a local fence for stolen This article will teach you more about the SAT subject tests. Once Ghantt loaded the large haul from the vaultwhich could have been close to $20 millioninto a truck, he planned to drive to a second location, then head straight to the airport and fly to Mexico. The robbers went on a huge spending spree, buying a massive home, artworks, big-screen TVs, expensive cars, pickup trucks, minivans, two boats, six motorcycles and several tanning beds. Charlotte Agenda is now Axios Charlotte -. He goes, My name is Bruno. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. Back in North Carolina, Ghantts former accomplices were living high on the hog. WebWho was involved in the Loomis Fargo robbery? The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. Across the border in Mexico, Ghantt was also living it up. Michelle, meanwhile, purchased new breasts for herself, along with a $43,000 diamond ring and a new convertible BMW Z3. As soon as you put that first bag of stolen money in that van, theres no going back. So much so that one suspicious neighbor called the FBI. The next day, Steve and Michelle Chambers, Kelly Campbell, and four others were arrested.[6]. Heist: The Oddball Crew behind the $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft Jeff Diamant 12 Audio CD 9 offers from $5.86 About the Author Jeff Diamant covered the heist for the Charlotte Observer. Join the 119,947 smart Charlotteans that receive our daily newsletter. But as Ghantt admitted, the film took some liberties with specific details and characters to make the film funnier. Chambers, his wife, and several of their accomplices were arrested the next day. "Wells Fargo and Loomis forming armored car company", Learn how and when to remove this template message, painting of Elvis Presley on black velvet, "FindACase | United States of America v. Steven Eugene Chambers", "The Unperfect Crime | New Dominion Pictures", "Sunday Evening/Late Night September 9, 2001", "Loomis Fargo heist: Q&A with guy who stole $17 million", "MASTERMINDS - Movie Production NotesCinemaReview.com", Ghantt and other gang members arrested in March 1998, Steven Chambers released from prison; announces he is a "retired criminal", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=October_1997_Loomis_Fargo_robbery&oldid=1132065054, Articles with dead external links from February 2020, Articles needing additional references from October 2019, All articles needing additional references, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from February 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2020, Articles with dead external links from July 2022, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Overcoming the mindset that led to the part David Ghantt played in the Loomis robbery and how he started on a new path was the subject of the book, Within days of the robbery, the case was depicted on the television criminal reporting show, An expanded two-hour special episode of the crime documentary series. 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