NASCAR. 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. just generally being a jerk. Copyright The Nashua Telegraph | https://www.nashuatelegraph.com | 110 Main St, Ste 1, Nashua, NH 03060 | 603-882-2741, Loomis Fargo defendants owe as much as they stole in 1997, Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. (LogOut/ "What would it take to convince you to do it?" Later that year, he saw a newspaper ad for a job at Loomis Fargo. The plan was to maintain a low profile and wait for things to cool off, allowing Ghantt to return to the states and collect his cut. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). - 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. A customs inspector, asking routine questions of bus passengers, focused her attention on him when his answers reminded her of Tommy Flanagan, the pathological-liar character played by Jon Lovitz on Saturday Night Live. true story that has captivated American audiences on the news and now on the big screen in the major motion picture, Masterminds. Since Ghantt was the supervisor, he sent his co-worker home first. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. Theres no way to get it back,, And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth., White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money,, Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with., She will never get beyond the debt. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) During one overnight shift, a bumbling conspiracy of thieves just west of Charlotte stole more than $17 million from Loomis Fargo. His eyes widened and he stopped breathing as he realized that something as mundane as a malfunctioning gate might ruin their entire plan. Chambers had told Campbell to do whatever she needed to do to get Ghantt to commit the robbery. When some friends stole a stop sign from a busy intersection, David made them put it back. One number is working in Campbells favor. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer and advised the others not to spend the money lavishly. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. Michelle Chambers received a few more months than Ghantt, because she had violated several bond conditions. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. Inside the truck, they found Ghantts ring and surmised this as a sign of Ghantts intention to end his relationship with his wife. They could talk about anything, even topics he couldn't discuss with his wife. Although the FBI investigation was able to quickly connect Ghantt to Campbell, connecting Ghantt to Chambers was a more difficult task. The 2016 comedy movie, Masterminds is based on the story of the Loomis Fargo Heist. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. Action News Jax facebook feed(Opens a new window), Action News Jax twitter feed(Opens a new window), Action News Jax youtube feed(Opens a new window), JSO K9 escapes kennel, bites three people in Jacksonville neighborhood, To know Nancy was to love Nancy: St. Johns County woman killed in suspected DUI crash, JSO says missing child alert results in deadly drowning, Senator proposes bill giving state emergency jurisdiction over custody of kids with trans parents, Florida woman accused of killing terminally ill husband released from jail. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. Money. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. Instead he became paranoid, especially after Steve Chambers put a contract out on his life. The unsolved crime mystery of Marilyn Sheppard. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. He and Tammy could have one or two meals each week that he really liked, but the rest were hot dogs or Hamburger Helper. EDITORIAL: Computer Science misses the need for digital literacy, N. Carolina legislators announce Medicaid expansion deal, EDITORIAL: Fighting political forces that sever family ties, Special-use to get overhaul: Commissioners, planners take a look, Cape Carteret seeking new police chief one month after hiring New Bern resident for post, How many in North Carolina are awaiting student loan debt relief? I made a joke once that was the hardest Id ever worked for Wells Fargo -- yeah, its a lot of work, Ghantt said. But if you did, youll never forget it. "I was unhappy with my life. Ghantt had fled to Mexico with $50,000 in cash, leaving the rest of the money with Steve Chambers. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. About six months before the Charlotte theft, on March 29, a total of $18.8 million was taken from Loomis, Fargo in Jacksonville, Fla., in what was believed to be the largest heist in U.S.. Its said the current owner now has it in storage in Phoenix, Arizona. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Getting that off his chest calmed him some, and the conversation returned to the plan. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. Human nature is a flexible part of life, Gronquist said. 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. Its like, me and you sat down, I have access to pie, you like pie, all I want is my share of the pie. Perry identified the other six people arrested as Steve and Michelle Chambers; Kelly Jane Campbell, a former Loomis employee; Michael L. McKinney; Thomas Nathan Grant; and Eric Haley Payne.. - 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. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. Hed never really been in trouble, he wasnt a career criminal, said retired FBI agent John Wydra. FBI video shows the agency searching that home and finding drawers full of cash. Their only intimate physical contact had been kissing on a mid-September night when they had driven her pickup truck to a field behind a shooting range in Gaston County to discuss their plans and the theft's chance of success. As an adult, he preferred Shakespeare, Tom Clancy, and any book he could find about the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. 12) Loomis Fargo heist- The aftermath Ultimately, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo bank heist. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. How he and his wife had trouble communicating. As beads of sweat formed under his red hair, he loaded up another cart and repeated the process. But with Kelly's new idea on the table, several dark realities converged on him. She'd left Loomis in November 1996 to take a job elsewhere as a security guard. But on Oct. 4, 1997, that no longer mattered and Ghantt took off with $17.3 million. She was five-foot-seven, had dirty-blond hair, and had worked with him for about a year at Loomis Fargo, until she left for another job in 1996. Steve began talking about wiring money to overseas accounts, and even purchasing a nightclub. 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. 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. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. 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. But being the vault supervisor at Loomis Fargo had one perk -- exposure to tons of cash. Ghantt had struck up a relationship with a fellow Loomis Fargo employee, Kelly Campbell; they continued to maintain contact even after Campbell left the company. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. The money weighed as much as a compact car and he did it all by himself. The figures can be astounding. My knee-jerk reaction was to be angry, and then the sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, Ghantt said. He stayed at it until the vault was empty. He was a hard worker, smart enough, and had graduated from high school. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. The FBI heard about the plot and agents knew they could no longer wait. David would simply empty the vault and deliver the money to the others. 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. In Gastonia, David would run into high-school classmates who had never struck him as especially smart. One day, the two employees were in the break room and got to talking about the news of the day a massive bank heist that just occurred in Florida by someone at their company. There are many robberies registered in the history of America, but the Loomis Fargo Robbery is known to be the second largest robbery in the United States. 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. 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. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. contact us to submit an unexplained mystery article, or to join the team on the email address below. In the parking lot, David sat in his pickup truck smoking a cigarette and waving good-bye as the trainee drove home. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. Kelly called, using David's own cell phone, to ask where he was already, because she and the others were waiting outside for him. In Reservoir Dogs, released just five years earlier, the pawns in a robbery knew each other only by assigned colors: Mr. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. The building was configured so vans could drive inside and pull up next to the vault. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. In all, agents arrested 24 people in the heist. In addition, he also rented Mike his own apartment, paid him $400/weekly and bought him a gun. "I'm busy," he said. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. It was released in 2016 and Wydra was invited to the premiere. 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. The site features a collection of unexplained, strange and odd mysteries. While Ghantt waited for the heat from the robbery to die down, Chambers would send Ghantt small amounts of money. He loves his motorcycle and enjoys going fishing and, while hes sorry for the past, hes not ashamed to talk about it. They had to be extremely careful not to tip off the group, as they could lose potential conspirators or more information important to a conviction. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. That movie, Masterminds, was filmed in 2014. Learning from this error, David planned to leave the stolen money behind with his coconspirators while he fled to Mexico. As a child, he had preferred reading to playing sports, and he would say, as an adult, that although he couldn't have told you "who was on first," he knew as a kid who the Egyptian god of the dead was. 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. Ghantt went to Mexico leaving the money with his cohorts, thinking that he could get his share back when he needed it. Temptation to do something that you think you normally wouldnt do can change a lot of minds when its that kind of cash, and thats what it was., (WATCH BELOW: VIDEO: The Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later). She sounded incredulous. In March 1997, after Loomis Fargo & Company has been robbed of $18.8 million in Jacksonville by company security guard Philip Noel Johnson, Steve Eugene Chambers and Kelly Campbell, a former employee of Loomis, decides to rob the company. 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. Campbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantt's feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. Afterward, everything became comical. 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. : The $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft [Jeff Diamant] on Amazon.com. And after two years, the case is just a file. Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter. None of the suspects had been in any serious trouble before this. "I'll need help moving the money, getting a new ID, and leaving the country," he told her. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. "Just remind Steve," he said, "that I might be trouble my own self." Worlds Biggest Heists London Hatton Garden 200m Diamond Robbery, Easter 2015. 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 case had gotten national publicity and was the subject of numerous articles, documentaries and even a movie. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars worth of temptation. The hillbilly outfit did more that just drop a few breadcrumbs. How he felt shorted by life. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Each cart, holding about $2 million, was taking David seven or eight minutes to stack, push, and empty into the van, and there were about eight cartloads' worth in the vault. Though Wydra is retired, 25 years ago, he was an agent with the FBI. Kristen Wiig plays Kelly, who really wasn't that into David, but convinced him to take a fortune from Loomis Fargo in the fall of '97. Another time, the day after a Christmas in the late 1980s, David and some friends planted all the discarded Christmas trees from the area in one neighbor's front yard. It was David who was hours away from committing the most daring act of his life, and she was going off about Steve being a serious guy? Sunny. So its one thing to go from up here, thought, to action, he said. '. Loomis Fargo, the nation's largest privately held armored- car company, used vans to transport hundreds of millions of dollars a day belonging to banks and other businesses, stocking automated teller machines and storing money in the Loomis vault between deliveries. You can garnish wages. That was the thing that sticks in my mind to this day.. Friends of Campbell had also begun spending large amounts of cash. The $17 million Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, North Carolina, was the second largest armored car robbery in U.S. history. The corporation handled armored transportation, ATM maintenance and other cash handling services, and had millions of currency stashed in the vault of the North Carolina branch. 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. Ghantt had worked with the branch since 1994, and had been promoted from a driver to the vault supervisor. 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. And Kelly thought he was funny. Before the robber left Loomis Fargo, he made a trip to the managers office to remove two surveillance tapes in order to conceal his identity. After hanging up on her, David returned to work. 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. Another name the FBI had become very interested in is Eric Payne. In this outrageously entertaining book, Jeff Diamant, the Charlotte Observer's lead reporter on the case, offers the definitive inside account of this astonishing. Still facing possible unknowns of other people involved, the FBI needed to gather more information without the suspects getting suspicious of them. The trainee didn't know to check to make sure it was closed. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. Living with his wife, Tammy, in a mobile home, he had longed for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood that had come to seem luxurious, a pipe dream for him now. So the original gang was all totally shocked, Wydra said. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). LeVaughn Kelly Campbell (born July 23, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former football wide receiver. From there, the money was moved from the armored car to private vehicles. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. 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. Jeff Diamant was a reporter for the Charlotte Observer when the heist took place. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. Thank you so much. Tuesday marked 25 years since a group of buddies pulled off the third-largest money grab in U.S. history -- the Loomis Fargo heist. Steve had hired a bodyguard named Mike McKinney. They had met in December 1995 on one of her first days at Loomis. The plan was for Ghantt to commit the actual robbery and then quickly leave the country forMexico but to leave the bulk of the cash with Chambers. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. He would then have the bulk of his share sent south of the border. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. The actual crime itself required none of Hollywood's imagination. of violence, racism, anti-Semitism, or It, too, has changed hands several times. You can seize property. The Loomis Fargo Heist Over the next months, Ghantt, Campbell, and Chambers developed a plan. Investigators also found Ghantts pickup truck, abandoned at the warehouse. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. sole discretion of the site administrators and repeat offenders may Ghantts spending in Mexico was extravagant at first. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. You have permission to edit this article. Some of that money is just gone. By this time, agents knew where he was and had a general idea who the other players were, so they went to every bank in town to see if any of them rented a safe deposit box. That way, outsiders couldn't see money being loaded. Discover some of the worlds strangest ancient places. Ghantt, who by then was long out of prison, served as a consultant. Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. It was 2:00 p.m. on October 4, 1997, and tension was building between two planners of what would rank high among the largest heists in United States history. Moving the money into the van quickly proved an onerous task. 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. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) https://www.charlotteagenda.com/67457/loomis-fargo-heist-masterminds-movie/, http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/article104506876.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_1997_Loomis_Fargo_robbery#Company, http://retroclt.blogspot.com/2014/07/loomis-fargo-heist.html, . But things didnt quite work out that way. About the worst he had done as a teenager was stealing a construction company's Porta-Jon with a friend, tying it to the back of a pickup truck, and driving around for about fifteen minutes. The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. OWLS director fired in wake of new board taking over, New rules will require flood history disclosure in real estate, North Carolina recreational spring flounder season canceled for 2023, Supreme Court seems ready to sink student loan forgiveness, Beach commission gets update on search for new sources of sand for beach nourishment. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. Unexplained Mysteries and Strange Things,Cool Interesting stuff has been online since early 2011. "Everything's gonna be all right," she told him. Not all of them, but some of them are going to forgive you, theyre going to overlook it., he said. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. He hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. Ghantt didnt know the full extent of what was happening back home -- how that lay low plan turned into a flurry of extravagant spending. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. He couldn't understand the gap, why he wasn't more successful, why he couldn't at least match the financial stability of his father, who earned a comfortable salary driving a truck. In Campbells case, Gronquist says his client was buried in court-ordered debt despite the fact that she took responsibility for what she had done and cooperated with prosecutors and the FBI. Eric Payne got out of prison in 2006 for his role in the heist and has since paid $11,357 on his $292,000 debt. He deserved better. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. Conversations about stealing from the company weren't rare for Loomis employees. The supervisor liked him and gave him the job. Commentary: Denial of racism is coping mechanism, Carteret Community College honors top students during 26th annual Black History Celebration, Peletier board delays action on fine for alleged practice time violation at racetrack, Commentary: State schools are funding corporation tax cuts, EDITORIAL: A paralyzed congress dances on debt limit, Sponsors sought for summer feeding program, LETTER TO THE EDITOR: More of the Truist story, Post-pandemic report shows significant increase in dropouts, crime, suspensions in county schools, Affordable housing construction begins in Beaufort, LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Existing school calendar law deserves our support, Carteret Community College to hold national anthem auditions, Topsail Island panel to lobby for terminal groin funding, LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Water contamination in Atlantic, EDITORIAL: School board resolution ignores tourism impact, Peletier will try to sell steel purchased in 2018 for never-constructed community building, Peletier board tables vegetative waste site ordinance on advice of town attorney, N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission advocates for water quality, North Carolina the only state allowing unnecessary killing of sea turtles, 'Pagan' bike gang leader in N. Carolina sentenced to prison, Deputy cleared in shooting death of Gloucester woman, Beaufort amends charter to allow four-year mayoral term.

Terraria Seed With No Corruption, Halmar International Chris Larsen Net Worth, Glens Falls Hospital Staff Directory, Articles L