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. 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. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. "He was speechless," said Sandra Floyd. Steve told Scott to ignore the remaining stacks, which were mostly ones and fives. So they went to Mexico and arrested Ghantt in order to protect him. Masterminds is an atrociously bad comedy, and absolutely everyone is to blame. October was "a blast," he said. Things went from bad to worse when, in November, Michelle strolled into a bank with a briefcase filled with 200 grand and asked the manager, How much can I deposit without the bank reporting the transaction? When she showed the bank manager that she really had the money to invest, the cash was still bound in Loomis Fargo wrappers. Ghantt was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison. So the pieces were falling into place for investigators. It was late in 1996. 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 whole town I was staying in was 98.9 percent Mexican, except for when the cruise ships were in, Ghantt recalls. It was the first Saturday in October. At the party, Steve invited Michele's stepfather, truck driver Dennis Floyd, to the basement to play pool. And I said, Hey, man, I got this. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Steve also offered $100,000 to his 26-year-old cousin. She also assured the teller her cash wasn't drug money. There had been no signs. We spoke with the inside man, David Ghantt, to get the real story. And though she had been made night shift supervisor at Allied Security, she still felt she would never make the money she needed. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]. She was a wife and mother with two children. Hes very articulate. The modern company was formed in 1997 by the consolidation of two armoured security concerns, Wells Fargo Armored Service and Loomis Armored Inc. Their international network covers over 200 operating locations in the US and eleven western European countries. He took bus tours of Mayan ruins. When he finished, the van was filled with $17 million. Kelly drove her pickup to a lot across the street from the Loomis building, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte. 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. One of them tapped him on the back. You might as well take it all, Ghantt tells me. Campbell helped plot the robbery of Loomis Charlotte vault on Oct. 4, 1997, with David Ghantt, a Loomis supervisor who stole the money, and Steve Chambers, a longtime Campbell friend. 145 Matches for Kelly Loomis. I didnt pick the heist team. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Associated Press, BY MICHAEL GORDON, The Charlotte Observer. Theres less security. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. The mystery 1-4-3 caller had been Kelly, though agents didn't know it yet. When October 1997 began, Steve and Michelle Chambers lived in a double-wide trailer. Cool, I say. They bought a BMW roadster. David was sentenced to 7 1/2 years. The pager entry was 1-4-3. In early November, Steve lured the real Mike McKinney, an ex-Marine, to North Carolina from his Illinois home. Working together, they got the gate open, then drove in a caravan to the Reynolds & Reynolds parking lot. 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. Even still, he was 27, married and struggling to provide for his family. What it does is put a ball and chain on that person for the rest of their lives, they are walking around and they are basically an indentured servant, Gronquist said. By March, Steve Chambers decided he needed to do something more drastic about Ghantt, making plans to send a hitman to Mexico to silence him for good. They also purchased tanning beds, a pool table, a Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle and all kinds of expensive furniture. Ghantt didnt know the full extent of what was happening back home -- how that lay low plan turned into a flurry of extravagant spending. He partied, met women, drank, skied and hung out at the beach. Basically, he needed a score to make his problems go away. Jared Hess directed Masterminds, and god bless the guy, but if Gentlemen Broncos and Nacho Libre were not proof enough that Napoleon Dynamite was a fluke, Masterminds should seal the deal. They tried to break the van's bulletproof windows. Here's what Floyd recalls: After two games of pool, Steve told him, "You know, we do a lot of gambling. It wouldn't work, Kelly told him. He realized that if they met the minimum monthly payments, the bill would take 30 years to pay. About the same time, Kelly and McKinney received phone calls from agents who told them to open their doors. The FBI was also surveilling Kelly Campbell and followed her to a pay phone that she used to place calls to Mexico. This meant a bump in pay, up to $8.15 an hour. 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. Masterminds is a 2016 American crime comedy film based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery in North Carolina. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. In a word, "Teamwork. But first they wanted to know if it was a robbery or a robbery-homicide. She could visit friends. I missed my wife. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. Since then, there have been numerous articles, books, documentaries and even a movie about this gang -- the gang that couldnt shoot straight. Without really intending to, Kelly recalls, she turned the conversation to the possibility of a heist. But being the vault supervisor at Loomis Fargo had one perk -- exposure to tons of cash. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. There used to be a consulate in Cancun. David told her he'd need help moving the money, getting a new ID and leaving the country. He would pay McKinney $250,000, half upfront. Were others involved? He and his wife, Tammy, lived in a mobile home in Kings Mountain, N.C. Money was always tight. The Chambers, however, didnt fit in with the other members of the gated community. 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. . Ghantt spent a solid hour moving what ended up being 2,700 pounds of cash more than an actual ton into an unmarked company van. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. It was released in 2016 and Wydra was invited to the premiere. 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. Ive never taken offense to anything like that, he tells me. Twenty-one people were charged and convicted in the robbery, one of the biggest heists in U.S. history. The case had gotten national publicity and was the subject of numerous articles, documentaries and even a movie. Truth was, David wanted more than help leaving, he wanted company. 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. Thanksgiving and Christmas were difficult. Ghantt met up with the other members of the plot and offloaded the cash. He had since served time in prison for the crime and told our sister station WSOC-TV Channel 9s Glenn Counts he learned a valuable lesson while behind bars. Loomis, then known as Loomis Fargo, experienced two inside jobs in 1997, for $17.3 million and $18.8 million. 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. Get to me. Its that kind of excitement.. "I'd been told all my life, money will not make you happy," Kelly said. The money was heavy. At the time, it was the largest cash heist in history. Not all of them, but some of them are going to forgive you, theyre going to overlook it., he said. "For the first year, they're all over you. Steve told her to send David to Atlanta on a bus and drive back to the trailer. They also left behind a life-changing fortune in small bills $3.3 million in fives and ones that they overlooked and the two videotapes that Ghantt had pulled from the security cameras at the bank. That was great. The picture, which is directed by Jared Hess and written by Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, and Emily Spivey, stars Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Jason Sudeikis . kellis@gastongazette.com 0:04 1:38 On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. Hes a family man with a wife and daughter. Where was Ghantt? I was expecting her to kick me out of the house., Years later, after they married and had a child together, they watched a movie based on the whole ordeal. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. He allegedly hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. Ultimately, though, the heist wasnt Ghantts idea, which meant he didnt decide who else was involved. So its one thing to go from up here, thought, to action, he said. You can seize property. Most people are going to forgive you. His new life in Mexico had begun. Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. At the Halloween party, though, Kelly gave in to Steve, and agreed it had to be done. Was that really what it was about? Turns out, most of the thieves and their accomplices have been about as effective coming up with their court-ordered restitution as they were hiding their original crimes. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. One number is working in Campbells favor. Then, on a mid-September day, as he reviewed a credit card bill, David did some math. My knee-jerk reaction was to be angry, and then the sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, Ghantt said. The cart held about $2 million, and the thief made multiple trips. I don't blame him.". 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. In the first days after the arrests, agents recovered or accounted for all but about $2 million of the stolen money. It premiered in Los Angeles on September 26, 2016 and was theatrically released in the . This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Him and I still talk every now and then. I ride motorcycles and fish -- normal guy, Ghantt told Counts. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. He went deep-sea fishing. When he walked onto the plane, he was wearing big, tall cowboy boots, where hed stuffed a majority of the smuggled cash. Sun, sand and beaches are all part of why Jacksonville is a popular destination. 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. Inside the Mazda, Steve told Scott Grant to get out and help David. On Oct. 7, 1997, two FBI agents arrived at Kelly Campbell's home after two Loomis employees had told agents she and David had once dated. For reasons that remain obscure, Robert spilled the beans to David. His wife, Tammy, was as shocked as Loomis officials. Heres your money. Then he turns around and leaves., The problem was, it was nowhere near the amount Ghantt had expected: Im looking at it, and theres maybe $8,000. Then another. A couple weeks pass, and I call again, Hey, Id like to get some more money. 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,. Some amateur thieves might turn to movies and TV shows for lessons on criminal behavior. She'd heard his stories of other successful schemes, like getting refunds on phony tax returns, or operating a loan shark business. . In the two days after the robbery, agents interviewed more than 100 people, most connected with David. There it was, "The Heist." They picked me, he says with a rueful tone. The FBI continues to search for a missing $2 million from the theft. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. He couldn't even bear to stick around for the final tally--though when he left he didn't forget to take $6,000, the first cut of his expected $100,000 share. The teller, who hadn't asked, filed a "suspicious activity report." 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.. What concerned her was the chance of getting caught. As it turned out, Ghantt was zipping up his scuba suit in Mexico. Until, that is, he decided to hell with it he was going to pull-off the second largest heist in U.S. history. He couldn't talk.". Nosotros, Yahoo, somos parte de la familia de marcas de Yahoo. They found Ghantts truck, and in it were his keys, some personal items and his wedding ring. The FBI's final challenge is finding the remaining $2 million. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. When he landed in Cancun, his first stop was Walmart. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily . Kelly found herself standing beside David while they waited together for a bond hearing. In mid-November, McKinney carried $10,000 to Cancun but wound up spending most of it on himself. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba. He drove to the edge of the Loomis compound, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence. She could spend time with her children and parents. Theres some things I want to do., Ghantt planned on traveling from Mexico to the Cayman Islands, bypassing customs along the way. This machine is the property of Loomis. Kelly says she underestimated the value of her life before the heist. Or that it was an inheritance. Copyright 2022 TheAssociated Press. Ghantt had fled to Mexico with $50,000 in cash, leaving the rest of the money with Steve Chambers. Was the temptation too much? Agents noticed it two months later when it flowed to them through official channels, along with hundreds of similar reports involving other people. And robbing a truck was dangerous. They didn't know it, but they were leaving $3.3 million behind. Meanwhile, Steve was keeping a close eye on Kelly. So the original gang was all totally shocked, Wydra said. I made a joke once that was the hardest Id ever worked for Wells Fargo -- yeah, its a lot of work, Ghantt said. The next day, Kelly drove back to Steve's mobile home to watch the news with Steve and Michele. Sandra Floyd, Michele Chambers's mother, remembers the first time she saw the house. It had been drilled into my head that if you give me a team of five good people, I can go anywhere, do anything," David explained. He para-sailed, power-skied and scuba-dived. Just under $14 million sat in an outbuilding behind his home, inside blue steel barrels. Loomis Fargo Defendants Owe as Much as They Stole in 1997, 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, N.C. on Aug 16, 1999. All rights reserved. By Dustin Rowles | Film | September 30, 2016 |. However, the FBI knew immediately who robbed the vault (Ghant was seen on video camera), and it didnt take long for the FBI to loop in Kelly Campbell. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) These days, the 52-year-old husband and father lives in Jacksonville, Florida, where he works at a heavy equipment rental agency. Zaron Burnett is an investigative journalist and longform features writer based in Los Angeles. At the time of the real robbery, Chambers was facing criminal charges hed written 30K worth of bad checks and was facing jail time for it. There were times when I drank really heavily.". Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. He pocketed the money and told Chambers and Campbell to send him his cut in Mexico. Steve, who had sworn Kelly, Eric and Scott to secrecy the night of the theft, named them all to the FBI. He hadnt checked ahead of time if the airport had any available flights, let alone if it would even be open. She tried to apologize for the murder plot. His mobile home was nicely furnished, on eight acres with a stream in the back. He recalled that another agent, Phil King, said, "Hey, there was an article in the [Charlotte] Observer about beeper codes. . One thing about teammates, in David's view: You could always trust them. The gang made numerous mistakes. Username. Hes well thought-out. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. The robbery was committed by Loomis vault supervisor David Scott Ghantt, his married girlfriend Kelly Campbell (a former Loomis co-worker), Steven Eugene Chambers (a one-time FBI informant), his wife Michelle Chambers, Michael Gobbies, and four other co-conspirators. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. 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