she asked again. He realized his bosses would know he had worked that day and that he was missing, but maybe without a video they would think he'd been held at gunpoint and taken hostage, or even better, that he'd been killed. The unsolved crime mystery of Marilyn Sheppard. In Florida, a Loomis Fargo employee had pulled a gun on his coworkers and gotten away with $18 million, a move that FBI agents theorize Ghantt, Campbell and other employees all sat around talking about - and what they would do with that amount of money - for a while. Its like, me and you sat down, I have access to pie, you like pie, all I want is my share of the pie. In this outrageously entertaining book, Jeff Diamant, the Charlotte Observer's lead reporter on the case, offers the definitive inside account of this astonishing. Its in the ether. 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. If it didn't work out, he could return to the United States later with a new identity. He shut the empty vault and set its timer so the vault could not be opened for two or three days. 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.. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. Money. Prosecutors say a vault. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft [Jeff Diamant] on Amazon.com. Worlds Biggest Heists London Hatton Garden 200m Diamond Robbery, Easter 2015. Some of that money is just gone. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. More than 2 million dollars are still missing to this day. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. CHARLOTTE If you didnt live in the Charlotte area 25 years ago, you might not believe it. He allegedly hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. 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. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. Loomis Fargo employees could not open the vault the next morning, and called the police. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done. She will never get beyond the debt. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: But where will they park? 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. "What would it take to convince you to do it?" A parrot tattoo on her right ankle. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. Change). In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. For the defendants in the Loomis Fargo heist, its allure was irresistible. "I've got a friend," she said, "who can hook you up with a new ID.". 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. 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 . Meanwhile, Ghantt's gang spent wildly and paid their family members and friends to hide money. - 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. Then they returned it. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. He has been a staff writer for the Star-Ledger in New Jersey since 2000. She had previously been making frequent small deposits to avert suspicion. David didn't appreciate her tone. There's just one hitch: Ghantt has entrusted the money to an oddball crew of accomplices who had wooed him into committing this massive theft in the first placeand who, he soon learns, are trying to take him out. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. It all went down in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the man at the center of that heist, David Scott Ghantt, now lives in Jacksonville. The October 4 shift was lasting longer than expected, due to delays involving pickups and deliveries. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. The affidavit described Chambers as a former FBI informant who had provided information on another Loomis armored car robbery that never materialized. But things didnt quite work out that way. "What would it take to make you do it?". To be brutally honest, it was that morning, Ghantt replied. CHARLOTTE (AP) During one overnight shift, a bumbling conspiracy of thieves just west of Charlotte stole more than $17 million from Loomis Fargo. Former FBI agent John Wydra, who helped crack the case, sat down with Channel 9 Reporter Glenn Counts to talk about the clues that led to solving the crime, and how the group got caught. The principals here are David Ghantt, a driver for Loomis, Fargo and Co.; Kelly Campbell, the woman Ghantt had a crush on, and who convinced him to commit the crime; and Steve and Michele Chambers. Now and again I run into blog posts that tends to make me want to get started on bloggin myself. The figures can be astounding. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). You can seize property. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. Later that year, he saw a newspaper ad for a job at Loomis Fargo. It all seemed unfair. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. But this time on the phone, Kelly wasn't joking. 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. David told Kelly they would have to control themselves and not spend the money too quickly, because the FBI could electronically trace a suspect's recent spending activity through bank papers, credit card records, and land transactions. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. It was the second-largest. The figures can be astounding. As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to edit or David was thin six-foot-one, one hundred sixty-five pounds and heaving the stacks onto the cart, pushing the cart toward the vault door, and then emptying its contents into the van was exhausting. The hillbilly outfit did more that just drop a few breadcrumbs. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. He deserved better. Nathan, Steves cousin, was found in a mobile home the Chambers had abandoned. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. The unfairness gnawed at him, stirred by Kelly's questions. Discover the truth behind unexplained ancient mysteries, UFO mysteries, secret locations and paranormal events. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all., WSOC TV facebook feed(Opens a new window), Part 2: Channel 9 speaks with the man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago, ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east Charlotte, mom says, ALSO READ: Leader of $3M check theft, bank fraud scheme in Charlotte area sentenced to prison, ALSO READ: Man released from jail, accused of robbing banks while wearing electronic monitor, police say, ALSO READ: Suspect from south Charlotte bank robbery found, CMPD says, NCSHP arrest driver accused of nearly hitting 2 students at bus stop in Statesville, CMS delays opening of new school meant to ease overcrowding, Mooresville orders removal of memorial at park after teens death, Chick-fil-A announces app data breach, tells customers how to protect personal information, Charlotte woman celebrates $1 million scratch-off prize, WSOC - TV Public File Contact / Program Director, WAXN - TV Public File Contact / Program Director. Have a youtube channel or website similar? Charlotte Observer"more than a crime story, and one that's worth reading." Low 46F. (LogOut/ He realized his life wouldn't improve unless he did something drastic. Although the FBI investigation was able to quickly connect Ghantt to Campbell, connecting Ghantt to Chambers was a more difficult task. But you cant get blood from a stone,, Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. Growing up, David had been a nice kid, a decent student who was at worst a minor troublemaker and prankster. Moving the money into the van quickly proved an onerous task. The trainee didn't yet know how the place worked, a fact David planned to use to his advantage. Available on Compatible NOOK Devices and the free NOOK Apps. personal/abusive/condescending attacks on other users or goading He waffled on the heist idea three or four times from late August to mid-September. It took me going to prison to realize I was a bag of worms, and it took me years of work to be somebody worthy to come back into our society, he said. Well she was a pretty happy-go-lucky person, he said. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a trailer and upgraded to what would today be a multi-million-dollar mansion at Cramer Mountain. (LogOut/ Probably very egotistical of me, I thought, Yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.. contact us to submit an unexplained mystery article, or to join the team on the email address below. "I'll need help moving the money, getting a new ID, and leaving the country," he told her. Asked the purpose of his visit, Johnson had replied, "To visit friends. The plan to. A more immediate need was securing help to move the stolen money to safety the night of the crime. So they went to Mexico and arrested Ghantt in order to protect him. People dont seem to understand human nature. Former Loomis employee David Scott Ghantt is accused of stealing the money. Then one day, while reviewing his and Tammy's credit card bill, he did some quick math and realized that even if they met the minimum monthly payments, the bill would take thirty years to pay. The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history. Jeff Diamant was a reporter for the Charlotte Observer when the heist took place. Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. The supervisor liked him and gave him the job. "Do you know how much there's gonna be?" Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. In his youth, his mother had taken him to Sears and JCPenney, but as a man he shopped at Walmart, and while he knew there was nothing wrong with that, he wished he could afford more. 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. be blocked or permanently banned without warning. He ejected the two VCR tapes that he knew had recorded him stealing the money, took them, and prepared to leave. I gotta go.". It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Unexplained Mysteries - owned by Aliens since 2011. I appreciate your kind words! ", Johnson said, "Yeah, that's it. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. In Reservoir Dogs, released just five years earlier, the pawns in a robbery knew each other only by assigned colors: Mr. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. Kelly Campbell, who one day visited a Toyota dealership to purchase a minivan with twenty-dollar bills. In August 1997, Campbell informed Ghantt about an old high school friend of hers named Steve Chambers, who could assist Ghantt to execute a massive cash robbery of the Loomis Fargo vault in one night. I actually loved reading through this post. To visit friends.". There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. 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. 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. I made a joke once that was the hardest Id ever worked for Wells Fargo -- yeah, its a lot of work, Ghantt said. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. More calls between the two men, and also between Steve and Kelly Campbell, made it clear that the group was starting to turn on David Ghantt. You have permission to edit this article. They also found several stacks of money with Loomis bands still attached throughout all the homes searched. La vie de David Ghantt n'a rien de compliqu. I dont know if Steve would have done it himself, but he definitely was capable of buying someone to do it for him and I think that was going to happen if we didnt step in and arrest Ghantt, Wydra said. Heist! Cool interesting stuff features everything odd, weird, bizzare, strange or unusual. Oh were not going to talk to anybody, theyre not going to be able to convict us, that bravado happens in the beginning and then it often gets worn down by the reality, Gronquist said. He tried again to make the back gate rise, to no avail. 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. Despite being caught on camera wheeling the money from the vault to the getaway van, David Ghantt makes off to Mexico before the FBI can blink. ", "I don't need any more friends," she'd shot back. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. In addition to their extravagant spending, Michelle Chambers made the mistake of loudly asking a bank teller how much cash she could deposit in her account without it being reported to the feds, and then said, its not drug money.. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. His collection case closes in two years. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. Investigators also found Ghantts pickup truck, abandoned at the warehouse. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. 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. Then, he proceeded to load 2,800 pounds of cash into a van. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. Ghantt, in order to conserve this money, curtailed his spending. 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