So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. Kelly called, using David's own cell phone, to ask where he was already, because she and the others were waiting outside for him. 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. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. They could talk about anything, even topics he couldn't discuss with his wife. This was several years before the advent of smartphones and the post-9/11 increase in federal surveillance of electronic communications, and public knowledge about this tracking was less widespread. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. He has been a staff writer for the Star-Ledger in New Jersey since 2000. He quickly found out when you have money, you just have different problems, Wydra said. But they'd stayed in touch, and now they were poised to attempt a crime like almost no other. 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. - Husband and wife Steven and Michelle Chambers, whose conspicuous consumption of a luxury home, a BMW convertible, breast implants and a $600 wooden Indian, among other purchases, helped the FBI solve the crime, were assessed $3.81 million and $4.8 million, respectively. David's vision for all of this actually derived more from books than from movies. La vie de David Ghantt n'a rien de compliqu. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. 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 gang made numerous mistakes. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later 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. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. 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. 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. Of course the most famous thing inside the home was a velvet Elvis portrait. And after two years, the case is just a file. she asked again. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. Curiously, Payne had recently paid of his Visa in one payment and had been driving around new and rented vehicles for the past weeks. Except for the kiss in the pickup truck a few weeks before the heist, Kelly had kept things platonic. 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. 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. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]. But if you did, youll never forget it. It's still the hot topic . Jim Gronquist was Campbells defense attorney. Thirty years! Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. Tips had led the FBI to begin monitoring Chambers (and his wifes) activities, but it was not until the FBIrecorded a phone callfrom Ghantt in Mexico that the final connection was made. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. 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. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. It all seemed unfair. 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. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. She had attitude. He was the only employee unaccounted for the next morning, and videotapes recovered at the Loomis Fargo Charlotte office showed Ghantt removing cubes of cash and loading it into a Loomis Fargo armored van for over an hour. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. The figures can be astounding. So they went to Mexico and arrested Ghantt in order to protect him. 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. It has a certain feel, a smell and weight to it. The loot would later be divided among David, Kelly, and Steve. Afterward, she and David would talk just occasionally on the phone. 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. 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. David said he needed Kelly to drive to Loomis before the theft that night to remove a duffel bag from his parked pickup truck. He had since held one low-paying job after another. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east. Ghantt had fled to Mexico with $50,000 in cash, leaving the rest of the money with Steve Chambers. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. In this outrageously entertaining book, Jeff Diamant, the Charlotte Observer's lead reporter on the case, offers the definitive inside account of this astonishing. The 2016 comedy movie, Masterminds is based on the story of the Loomis Fargo Heist. That was taking the long view. They had met in December 1995 on one of her first days at Loomis. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. He deserved better. Ghantt went to Mexico leaving the money with his cohorts, thinking that he could get his share back when he needed it. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. But what the bank didnt tell Michelle, and Michelle didnt know, was that one of those forms get filled out if you ask about it, or if its close to $10,000 or if they suspect that any part of that transaction is suspicious, Wydra said. Its a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I went down and talked to them, got to meet Zach Galifianakis and the director, Ghantt said. How he and his wife had trouble communicating. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. 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 . Its like, me and you sat down, I have access to pie, you like pie, all I want is my share of the pie. The Star-Ledger, 06/15/2015On October 4, 1997, an amateurish gang robbed Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, NC of $17 million, the second largest heist in U.S. 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 . In all, they recovered $6.6 million. shaka wear graphic tees is candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of ted lawson real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist 25 Feb/23 (No Ratings Yet) A couple by the names of Steve and Shelley Chambers also became people of interest in the investigation due to their extreme sudden increase in spending. Im married, I got one girl, shes 15 going on 30. VERDICT The first edition of this work was published in 2002. Steve began talking about wiring money to overseas accounts, and even purchasing a nightclub. This website uses cookies and some data tracking to improve your experience and serve adverts, We assume you're ok with this, you can opt-out if you wish. 2023 Cox Media Group. What kind of surprised me is how much the car smelled like money, like if you ever hold money up to your nose it has a distinct smell, Wydra said. For people earning $8.15 an hour David's salary the jokes came naturally. That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. 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. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. But things didnt quite work out that way. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. The figures can be astounding. He decided at that moment that if Kelly called again, he would go for it. He realized his life wouldn't improve unless he did something drastic. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. He had joined the army and earned an honorable discharge, but because of defense-industry cutbacks he hadn't been able to find a good job for himself. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. There was no reason to leave anything, he felt. Well they were in some sense celebrities, Gronquist said. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. 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 .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft . He would then have the bulk of his share sent south of the border. 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