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Some family members hid money in bank deposit boxes, other friends were asked to mule cash to the Cayman Islands. Twenty-five years ago, a small group of rural North Carolinian amateur bank robbers pulled off the second-largest heist in American history. The next week, they heard Steve plan to send Mike McKinney to Mexico to kill David Ghantt. Tags: Associated Press, courts, crime, North Carolina. The platform is designed to engage citizens and government leaders in a discussion about what needs improvement across the country. They involve Loomis armored car driver David Scott Ghantt. His wife, Tammy, was as shocked as Loomis officials. He told Steve he hadn't been able to find David. "As soon as you start, you realize there's no going back," David recalled. Inside were, along with other personal items, his keys and wedding ring. Ghantt fled to Mexico. Hidden in it was a 3 1/2-carat diamond ring that cost $43,000. 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. The cart held about $2 million, and the thief made multiple trips. 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. I told the lead investigator I was glad to see him.. Was that really what it was about? 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. Eventually, Steve made Kelly believe they could steal from Loomis and get away with it, she said. Some of the biggest numbers remaining on the Loomis collection board, as is the case with Campbell, belong to those who played the biggest role in the crime: David Ghantt, the Loomis employee who loaded all that money 2,800 pounds in all into the back of a company van before escaping to Mexico, has paid just under $50,000 of the $3.81 million he was assessed. Contact Us | Loomis US 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. Though David had said earlier he thought there was $15 million in the vault, the sight of that much cash held them spellbound. . In real life: False. A version of this story originally appeared on CharlotteObserver.com. The authorities didn't know yet how much was missing from the armored-car company, but Steve did. He goes, My name is Bruno. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist - molecularrecipes.com "It probably should bother me," he said. Its kind of like that. Steve, who had sworn Kelly, Eric and Scott to secrecy the night of the theft, named them all to the FBI. David, the international fugitive, lived it up, too--for a while. The best states in the U.S. come from coast to coast. Campbell was another employee at Loomis Fargo and she and Ghantt quickly struck up a relationship, one that Campbell denies was ever romantic though FBI evidence says otherwise, and one that continued after she left the company. Then he and Campbell drove 90 miles to Columbia, South Carolina, where Ghantt planned to purchase a ticket to Mexico so he could be out of the country before news of the robbery broke the next morning. Scary. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. ". 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. Question: Are you surprised that Hollywood took this on as a movie? Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. Industry leading Training and Development. Why fans love it. Soon, the couple would be paying for something else, too: a hitman. When we worked together [for Loomis], we'd joke about it. "He showed me a lot of money," McKinney said. At the end of October, Kelly was sentenced to 5 years 10 months in prison. But because David's relationship with his Loomis bosses had been rocky, he says, he doesn't feel sorry about what he did to the company. . You can garnish wages. For her part, Kelly Campbell spent six years in federal prison. Agents began picking up signs that David definitely had help: The abandoned Loomis van with $3.3 million in small bills still inside, and phone records showing that somebody beeped him while he stole the money, using David's own cell phone. About 20 ago, Campbell sent him a letter of apology, but he never responded. Meanwhile, Michele Chambers was laughing and saying, repeatedly, "Look at all this money!" The real 'Masterminds' Chambers never held Campbell hostage by locking her in a shed on his property. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. 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. All the while, Ghantt prepared himself for the task at hand. Not many people can say they stole $17 million from their employer and had Zach Galifianakis play them in a movie. Ghantt simply got ready for work one morning knowing it would be his last day on the job. "I'm glad I've grown out of that.". And it turned Steve into he thought he was Don Corleone all of a sudden.. The name she gave the pup is apropos. Together, they drove in a convoy to an industrial warehouse eight miles away, where Eric Payne, a fourth accomplice was. Scott, 26, had a larceny conviction as a teenager, but he'd since cleaned up his act and now had a steady job, a daughter and a girlfriend. And I think that makes it all the more funny, because it really offends my co-defendants. That's the kind of movie they wanted to make. I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. When McKinney arrived in North Carolina, the plan had changed. The cash was covered with dog food. I had a four-hour layover there, and then from New Orleans to Cancun.. They didn't know it, but they were leaving $3.3 million behind. The next day, Kelly drove back to Steve's mobile home to watch the news with Steve and Michele. On Monday, October 6th, the FBI agents who were investigating the robbery located the Loomis Fargo van abandoned in the woods. At 7:45, David had finished loading. Loomis Fargo Defendants Owe as Much as They Stole in 1997 To protect themselves, David and Steve didn't meet or talk. DUMB & - The Washington Post But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. After a Gulf War stint in the Army, David got married in 1992. And that's OK with Ghantt, who's just a few weeks shy of his 47th birthday, out of federal prison for more than a decade, married with a 9-year-old daughter . Scott didn't want to, but then he remembered the hundred-grand payday. So I guess I have no regrets. 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). And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. Just head on out. And so, he did. We spoke to the FBI agents who investigated the case who say the real-life. That day, FBI agents also would arrest Scott Grant and Eric Payne, who had spent his share of the money on a motorcycle and breast implants for his wife and two sisters. He said every year he files his taxes and the IRS takes all of his tax return. . "I wanted to be more like my mom and dad were.". You see, there's a reason Loomis Fargo used armored cars to move large amounts of cash. Ghantt:It's kid-friendly, it's family-friendly (the movie is rated PG-13). They stocked a wine cellar. His assignment was to deliver the cash to David and keep him happy until they could find a way to kill him, McKinney said. As soon as Corey left, I pretended like I was leaving. But it wasnt. 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. Then he was driving in the darkness with a van full of cash. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. So he got in a cab and went to a mall. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. "Steve said, 'I think we ought to do it that night, when he drops off the van,' " Kelly recalled. . 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. The next day, he was sitting next to FBI agent Mark Rozzi on a US Airways flight to Charlotte. Find 145 people named Kelly Loomis along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. Steve told me to tell [David] whatever was necessary to keep him happy.". 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. Ghantt knew Chambers as Steve, but didnt find out that his last name was Chambers until the arrests were made. He appeared happily matched with his high-spirited wife, Michele, and the two children from her first marriage. Kelly relayed his message to Steve. Though he never found the right moment to carry out the hit, McKinney did find time to make a friend--a shady character named Robert, to whom he revealed more than was prudent. This was in the 1990s the Columbia Airport back then was closed at around 9:30, 10 oclock. Kelly, she says now, was thinking about how happy she would be to send this man far away from her. 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. But as soon as he drove off, I went right back in and opened the vault. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. Back then, it was one of the hotspots for hiding money. Ghantt planned to live off the interest for the rest of his life. When he landed in Cancun, his first stop was Walmart. She could spend time with her children and parents. The whole town I was staying in was 98.9 percent Mexican, except for when the cruise ships were in, Ghantt recalls. Then FBI agent Wydra watched Steve's wife, Michele, deposit about $8,000 at a Gaston County, N.C., bank. . All were convicted. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. Ghantt:I've burned that bridge years ago. Him and I still talk every now and then. ];Kelly Jane Campbell [Misc. Michelle, meanwhile, purchased new breasts for herself, along with a $43,000 diamond ring and a new convertible BMW Z3. I flew from Atlanta to New Orleans. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. David had grabbed $50,000 cash, but could figure out only how to carry $25,000 with him on the plane. The theft at the time the second-largest cash robbery in U.S. history has been the brunt of mocking movies and books, mostly on how the thieves, who had little money to begin with, could not control their spending habits once they did. . David, now 30, says he's sorry he abandoned his wife--who he says still loves him--and his family. It was the first Saturday in October. It affects everybody different. 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. 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. They soon realized David had stolen more money than would fit in their 55-gallon barrels. Charlotte hotel chef who serves with a smile recognized as outstanding ambassador, Eritrean, Ethiopian restaurant owner was a big brother and father to many in Charlotte, Home tours: This wired-up Weddington smart home has a pool big enough for the neighborhood. Without really intending to, Kelly recalls, she turned the conversation to the possibility of a heist. ', "He asked me if I'd mind holding some money for him. [Kelly] told me, 'Just think about it.' "He said, 'Yeah, right,' and turned his head. His mobile home was nicely furnished, on eight acres with a stream in the back. She'd heard his stories of other successful schemes, like getting refunds on phony tax returns, or operating a loan shark business. Ultimately, though, the heist wasnt Ghantts idea, which meant he didnt decide who else was involved. 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. ". I loved it. 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. Careers | Loomis US The mystery 1-4-3 caller had been Kelly, though agents didn't know it yet. 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. She could visit friends. 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. His collection case closes in two years. When McKinney realized Ghantt was wanted for the Loomis Fargo robbery, he backed off personally because he didnt want to be anywhere near a federal investigation. He partied, met women, drank, skied and hung out at the beach. 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. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. 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. Thomas Grant, who served three years in prison for bank larceny, paid off restitution of $70,000; brother Eric Grant paid all of his $26,000; as did David Craig, $40,000; and Dennis and Sandra Floyd; $27,000. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. 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. If you go from a mobile home to a mansion, that's going to attract attention. Looking for Kelly Loomis? It changes you. Ghantt:I've always known that story had potential to be a comedy or a drama. 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.. By the time the month concluded, the couple had purchased a 7,000-square-foot stone mansion in a gated country club community. Heres what happened on Sunday nights episode. Loomis - Home Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. He drove to the edge of the Loomis compound, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence. In real life: True. As for his new wife, when the two just started dating, he was nervous about letting her know about his past, but he wanted to be honest. "I said, 'That's all they gave me,' " McKinney recalled. I would call us friends. 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) Three weeks later, the couple purchased, in cash, a $635,000 stone mansion. Figure in Loomis Heist Gets Prison | AP News When neighbors asked where they got their money, Steve said hed played in the NFL.