Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. He had a favorite restaurant, Zandunga, which had a mariachi band each night and a view of the Caribbean. Basic and voluntary life insurance plan. The figures can be astounding. At the sight of all that money, Scott and Eric had the same thought: They'd made the worst mistake of their lives. By the time the month concluded, the couple had purchased a 7,000-square-foot stone mansion in a gated country club community. He told him McKinney was in Mexico to kill somebody. All rights reserved. In early December, Steve and Michele invited relatives to their daughter's sixth birthday party. He and his wife, Tammy, lived in a mobile home in Kings Mountain, N.C. Money was always tight. There was in fact a basically similar conversation involving Chambers and Campbell that took place during a barbecue the Campbells were hosting. Our Benefits. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. I wish them all a happy life and that's about it. A few of the Loomis restitution cases have already been closed either because the amount was paid in full or because the 20-year clock wound down. The name she gave the pup is apropos. When Ghantt was on the plane home from Mexico with the FBI, he admitted to the agents that while Campbell had been integral to why hed done it and that he did indeed have a crush on her it was never his true motivation. In real life: False. And then I could hear her laughing. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. Dependent care account. "But I had to know.". The first weekday after the heist, Michele Chambers, co-conspirator Steve's wife, walked into a NationsBank branch with a briefcase containing $5,000. Filming in the Asheville area starting in early July, and is. This was in the 1990s the Columbia Airport back then was closed at around 9:30, 10 oclock. Then another. He had even scheduled a follow-up appointment at the dentist. I did a little research into crime statistics and the local cops. They also purchased tanning beds, a pool table, a Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle and all kinds of expensive furniture. Kelly drove David to the airport. Ghantt:It baffles me to this day. 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. To say nothing of their art purchases like the aforementioned velvet Elvis portrait and a painting of a bulldog dressed as General George S. Patton. "I said, 'That's all they gave me,' " McKinney recalled. I had a four-hour layover there, and then from New Orleans to Cancun.. Some days, the robbery seems like a memory from a different life, a choice made by a different man. He longed for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood, with its private religious-school education and Disney World vacations. Eventually, Steve made Kelly believe they could steal from Loomis and get away with it, she said. They decorated their 6,000-square-foot stucco house with antiques, paintings and statues, including a six-foot wooden Indian that Michele had bought for $600. He's a very likable person. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. 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. 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. The others, though, went no farther than Cramer Mountain. and "I love money!" In real life: True. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. Ghantt:We're both North Carolina boys so we had a lot to talk about from the very beginning. He told Steve he hadn't been able to find David. The top-ranked pie in North Carolina doesnt look like pie at all. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. Alert: Obviously, spoilers abound. He'd even bragged that he'd killed people. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. In real life: True. He flip-flopped on the heist idea three or four times. But after she left, she reached back out to Ghantt and brought up what theyd talked about that day in the break room. Without really intending to, Kelly recalls, she turned the conversation to the possibility of a heist. It was the first Saturday in October. He kept looking over his shoulder. Chambers went from a mobile home in Lincoln County to a mansion in Cramerton. Kelly, using David's cell phone, kept beeping him. Ghantt:It started out as a mental exercise and somewhere between the mental exercise and the actual event, it became serious. Michelle, meanwhile, purchased new breasts for herself, along with a $43,000 diamond ring and a new convertible BMW Z3. Ghantt would go on to spend six and a half years in federal prison. He took bus tours of Mayan ruins. Meanwhile, back in North Carolina, Ghantts wife woke up to find her husband missing. Not until David was gone did Scott realize he didn't know which key to use. . She could spend time with her children and parents. Updated: 11:31 AM EDT October 4, 2022 CHARLOTTE, N.C. Tuesday is the 25th anniversary of the infamous Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, where a bank worker, with the help of two accomplices,. 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. The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history. 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. In February 1998, the FBI tapped their phones and listened to Steve discuss depositing $2.5 million in the Cayman Islands. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. Careers. No hard feelings. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. 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. And it turned Steve into he thought he was Don Corleone all of a sudden.. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. It was late in 1996. About 20 ago, Campbell sent him a letter of apology, but he never responded. David, now 30, says he's sorry he abandoned his wife--who he says still loves him--and his family. 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 . ];David Scott Ghanntt [Misc.] After a Gulf War stint in the Army, David got married in 1992. I couldn't understand why I hadn't been more successful," David said. 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.. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. He realized that if they met the minimum monthly payments, the bill would take 30 years to pay. [Kelly] told me, 'Just think about it.' Inside were, along with other personal items, his keys and wedding ring. Instead of lobster, the man who stole $17 million survived on home-cooked pasta and grilled cheese sandwiches. Money'll turn your head, I don't care who you are. But he tried to keep his face averted, so David wouldn't be able to ID him. An officer rang the doorbell. 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) . When she realized Ghantt never came home from work the night before, she contacted the police and filed a missing persons report. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it," Ghantt said. "I said, 'I don't want him killed.' Where I was going was right there near the Cayman Islands. As he and Kelly met in a field behind a shooting range to refine the plan, she allowed him to believe she was falling for him. You have to remember that it's Hollywood and they'll take what was a minor event and they'll blow it up and make it as funny as they can.". 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. On March 1, David Ghantt left his hotel to do some laundry. 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. So the last third of the movie is almost entirely fiction. I said, It comes down to picking the right day, and the right time of the month, and all that good stuff. I even told her, It wouldnt be all that difficult. He grabbed the tapes from two VCRs that connected to 16 security cameras. David was excited, jabbering about their future together. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. Thanksgiving and Christmas were difficult. 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. Once I start something, Im going to the end., As for how he felt in the moment, he says, Imagine me and you went on an airplane. You might as well go all the way now.". It didnt take the local police long to put the pieces together. All were convicted. 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. I just want people to go to the movies and have a good laugh, even if it's at my expense. Scott didn't want to, but then he remembered the hundred-grand payday. After a couple of weeks, Ghantt and the rest of the heist team were ready to strike. From Mexico, David usually spoke with Kelly on the phone once a week, paying with calling cards. For reasons that remain obscure, Robert spilled the beans to David. Given his position at the bank, hed be the one to pull off the robbery, and he intended to be ready. And I think that makes it all the more funny, because it really offends my co-defendants. He had an endearing smile, a beautiful wife and two children. Military + Veterans. He was an old friend from East Gaston High School, tough and sure of himself. He said every year he files his taxes and the IRS takes all of his tax return. ". And when everybody else voted to kill me, she voted with them, he explains. 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. Ghantt:Since I still owe the federal government money I can't get paid. (The conversation was depicted as 100 percent private on screen). "Things I always wanted to do, but never had the time or the money," he said. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. Steve told me to tell [David] whatever was necessary to keep him happy.". LeVaughn Kelly Campbell (born July 23, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former football wide receiver. The others sat in their cars across the street and watched him struggle to open the heavy gate. Twenty-five years ago, a small group of rural North Carolinian amateur bank robbers pulled off the second-largest heist in American history. In real life: Yes and no. "That would be living on the run, and I didn't want my kids to live that way. Then Steve pushed Scott inside, and he began throwing plastic-wrapped bundles of tens, twenties, fifties and hundreds to Eric and Steve, who placed them in three blue 55-gallon barrels. That led to better jobs, like the one at Loomis. And I said, Hey, man, I got this. About 200 keys dangled from it. Thats one of my personality flaws. Posted on . Field Operations; Corporate; Why Loomis. That was great. What concerned her was the chance of getting caught. . All I needed was a change of pace.". Its really just a matter of timing, more than anything. And she says, How much do you think wed get out of there? I said, Ten to 15 million. But I didnt really know.. They agreed that after the heist, David would immediately move to Mexico, alone, but Kelly would soon join him there, with her two children. He hadnt checked ahead of time if the airport had any available flights, let alone if it would even be open. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM 1998 and ACTORS IN MOVIE. I'll never pay it off on my paycheck." He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. I don't blame him.". Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. She was like, Well, at least you had guts, he says. If you go from a mobile home to a mansion, that's going to attract attention. . At the Halloween party, though, Kelly gave in to Steve, and agreed it had to be done. Federal prosecutors would ultimately charge 21 defendants in the case, including the Floyds, who were charged with (and pleaded guilty to) money laundering. The barrels were Steves idea, Ghantt says. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. Is he telling the truth? You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. David Ghantt, who pulled off the Loomis, Fargo & Co. vault robbery in 1997 and was sentenced to seven years in prison for the crime, served as a consultant for the film (in theaters Friday). Some amateur thieves might turn to movies and TV shows for lessons on criminal behavior. Now, I kind of know something is fishy., Alone in Mexico with limited cash, Ghantt thought about turning himself in. Three weeks later, the couple purchased, in cash, a $635,000 stone mansion. . He hated his job, with its 12-hour shifts. Kelly relayed his message to Steve. For her part, Kelly Campbell spent six years in federal prison. As it turned out, Ghantt was zipping up his scuba suit in Mexico. Here's what Floyd recalls: After two games of pool, Steve told him, "You know, we do a lot of gambling. Its a yes: Clover teen shakes off nerves to earn American Idol golden ticket, Mail carrier cant believe his eyes after seeing NC lottery win. Ghantt and one other employee were the last to leave. When I call Ghantt to discuss his involvement in the Loomis Fargo heist, he confesses that hes feeling a bit tired from a day of honest labor. 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.. Will Vin Sant Leave You Jacked or Scammed? On Feb. 27, agents listened in on a call from David to Kelly and learned David's location in Mexico. David had grabbed $50,000 cash, but could figure out only how to carry $25,000 with him on the plane. Heres what happened on Sunday nights episode. While the agents initiated their investigation, the Chambers spent money as quickly as they could. But in November, money ran low. In the dark, Scott inserted one key into the back door slot. 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) "Steve said, 'I think we ought to do it that night, when he drops off the van,' " Kelly recalled. I mentioned it to Kelly. ", "I wouldn't do it. One of them tapped him on the back. Health savings account and flexible spending account. "I said, 'Yeah, sure.' At first, David Ghantt said, "I didn't take her seriously. In hindsight, it doesnt surprise me a bit, Ghantt says, a bitter laugh catching in his throat. Ghantt says he operates a bulldozer for a small company. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. I would call us friends. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. Almost 19 years after Ghantt and a group of friends from Gaston County pulled off one of the largest cash heists in U.S. history, the movie "Masterminds" will play up the caper for laughs. 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. She was a wife and mother with two children. Hes very articulate. There used to be a consulate in Cancun. Ghantt:I don't think he ever really meant to harm me. Agents noticed it two months later when it flowed to them through official channels, along with hundreds of similar reports involving other people. 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. So he convinced a local hoodlum in Mexico to try to kill Ghantt. Ghantt worked at Loomis Fargos regional office vault in Charlotte. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. The phone rang: Kelly had a problem. Was Queen Charlotte Black? And after two years, you're just a file." They were the butt of a national joke. Before David left for the airport, he had handed Scott an eight-inch key ring. 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. They found Ghantts truck, and in it were his keys, some personal items and his wedding ring. I was burned out and just didn't know it. Soon, the couple would be paying for something else, too: a hitman. Or as he tells me, How many people in the United States havent thought about robbing a bank? Kelly drove her pickup to a lot across the street from the Loomis building, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte. . Scary. It will be some time before she can commune with domestic animals again. 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. Then he was driving in the darkness with a van full of cash. Michele received the best gift of the night. It's one of the biggest jokes at the place. Hidden in it was a 3 1/2-carat diamond ring that cost $43,000. She never really worried about the moral end of it--she was focused only on getting what she wanted out of life, what so many others seemed to have in this booming part of the South. . Before long, the FBI had wiretaps on the ringleader, Steve Chambers, and then they waited for the right time to make their arrests. In early September 1997, Kelly found herself chatting on the phone with a friend who still worked at Loomis, a 27-year-old man who, despite being married, had made no secret of the fact that he had a crush on her. She'd heard his stories of other successful schemes, like getting refunds on phony tax returns, or operating a loan shark business. To celebrate Halloween, about seven of Steve's friends, including Eric Payne and Kelly, gathered for a party at Steve's house. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. I threw you out, and then threw the parachute after you. At the time, it was the largest cash heist in history. "He said, 'Yeah, right,' and turned his head. They soon realized David had stolen more money than would fit in their 55-gallon barrels. 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 pay back more than $4 million.