real life kelly campbell loomis fargo real life kelly campbell loomis fargo

The first weekday after the heist, Michele Chambers, co-conspirator Steve's wife, walked into a NationsBank branch with a briefcase containing $5,000. 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. The audacity of the act was breathtaking. I really enjoyed the little scuba diving trip. 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. Was Queen Charlotte Black? First, they loaded the cash into blue 55-gallon barrels, and then they moved the barrels into a rental van. But former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt can. Theres some things I want to do., Ghantt planned on traveling from Mexico to the Cayman Islands, bypassing customs along the way. 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. Twice a week over the next 12 months, we will take you back to the winter of sheep cloning and the summer of Con Air. She could walk under the trees, with the chickens and goats and dogs that live around her mobile home. 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. 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. 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. 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. Purchases included a pool table, jewelry (including a $43,000 diamond ring), a minivan, $20,000 worth of cigars, and the 7,000-square-foot home on the side of Cramer. 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. Him and I still talk every now and then. I didn't think I had the guts. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist (No Ratings Yet) . If you want me to leave, Ill leave. Then, Ghantt went into another room. I'll never pay it off on my paycheck." Cool, I say. Where I was going was right there near the Cayman Islands. Then another. In real life: False. Thatd be the time to do it, Ghantt recalls. Our success depends on our team members, and that's why it's important for us to offer an employee benefits program that is not only extremely comprehensive but also one of the best in the industry. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP), Police: Officer Who Shot Black Man Retired 'In Bad Standing', 3 Kansas City Officers Who Were Shot Released From Hospital, 1 Killed When Business Jet Encounters Severe Turbulence. They didn't know it, but they were leaving $3.3 million behind. 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. Explain? Ghantt fled to Mexico. She was a wife and mother with two children. 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. "We kept going, '1-4-3, 1-4-3,' " recalled Vic O'Korn, assistant special agent in charge of Charlotte's FBI office. I can take it.". He'd even bragged that he'd killed people. One of them tapped him on the back. They sweated, though the night was cool. But as soon as he drove off, I went right back in and opened the vault. . That led to better jobs, like the one at Loomis. They heard Michele brag about her $43,000 ring. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ A woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored car company Loomis, Fargo & Co. was sentenced Tuesday to nearly six years in prison and ordered to pay back more than $4 million. "We're not the type that questions everything people tell us," Floyd said. Its everything thats coming north.. The Chambers, however, didnt fit in with the other members of the gated community. Steve told me to tell [David] whatever was necessary to keep him happy.". They loaded the wine cellar with Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Steve hung a velvet portrait of Elvis Presley in the basement. I mean, it was dark, Ghantt explains. [Kelly] told me, 'Just think about it.' It affects everybody different. They ditched the Loomis van, then drove the cash-heavy Budget van to Steve's mobile home in Lincoln County, where his wife, Michele, waited with a calculator and rubber bands. 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.. On Nov. 12, a confidential informant told the FBI about Steve Chambers's move from mobile home to mansion. I knew it was just a matter of time. "But I had to know.". Back in North Carolina, Ghantts former accomplices were living high on the hog. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. They paid for all of it in cash. Its kind of like that. 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. I threw you out, and then threw the parachute after you. They soon realized David had stolen more money than would fit in their 55-gallon barrels. Theres no management around. He goes, My name is Bruno. To that end, Campbell brought in her childhood friend Steve Chambers, who was characterized in the local press as a small-time drug dealer and a local fence for stolen goods, to lead the team. And I think that makes it all the more funny, because it really offends my co-defendants. . She tried to apologize for the murder plot. 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) Because lets be brutally honest: Theyre not wrong, okay? Then another. Yes, Carrie Underwood adopted a dog in Charlotte. Except the person he offered $150,000 to mule $2.5 million down to Ghantt in Mexico turned him down and instead went to the FBI. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Visit us at Loomis.us. . I hit the local library the thing that we used to do before Google, Ghantt says with a small laugh. Campbell and her husband had always been just scraping by, however in the weeks following the robbery, the two seemed to have more money than they've ever had. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. Question: You went to Mexico. 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. It was his goodbye. He would pay McKinney $250,000, half upfront. 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. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. 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 and happy. Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. He went deep-sea fishing. Because surprise! 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. So I was glad it was over. And going to see the Mayan ruins. Money'll turn your head, I don't care who you are. He flip-flopped on the heist idea three or four times. Like David, Kelly was frustrated with her marriage. As with Kelly, the worst blotch on 29-year-old Eric's record until now was a driving-while-intoxicated conviction. He gave the rest to Kelly. Ghantt went on to explain that he left for his flight to Mexico with about $25,000, and that two or three deliveries of extra money was made to him by the man Chambers would pay to kill him. She could visit friends. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it," Ghantt said. In that time, I realized most of my problems were because of me. Will Vin Sant Leave You Jacked or Scammed? 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. On the radio, the "John Boy and Billy" show played the song "Take the Money and Run. An officer rang the doorbell. He para-sailed, power-skied and scuba-dived. They stocked a wine cellar. She was like, Well, at least you had guts, he says. Twelve hours later, at 6 that evening, Eric Payne drove a rented Budget van to his workplace, a graphics company on Performance Road in western Mecklenburg County called Reynolds & Reynolds, which was closed for the night and had a secluded parking lot where they intended to transfer the cash. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. Speaking of his co-defendants, Ghantt says hes not currently in contact with any of them. Key benefit components include: Health insurance plans. Did you get paid? Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. Still, she wasn't happy. From Mexico, David usually spoke with Kelly on the phone once a week, paying with calling cards. He's a very likable person. "Think of how many women would have stood by. 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. Theres less security. "He said, 'Yeah, right,' and turned his head. Depression had led to smoking a lot of marijuana and taking Prozac, a combination she figures affected her judgment. 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. I just want people to go to the movies and have a good laugh, even if it's at my expense. Although David was in on most of the planning, one discussion between Steve and Kelly was kept a secret. Im on the phone with Kelly [Campbell], and Im like, Hey, I really was expecting a package to arrive. They hatched the idea half-jokingly, over a game of Uno, never dreaming they were about to make Bonnie and Clyde look like bottom feeders. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. Ghantt says he operates a bulldozer for a small company. No dry runs, no rehearsals. That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. 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). So I guess I have no regrets. Charlotte Magazine even ran a feature story about the Loomis Fargo heist with the title, White Trash Crime. The headlines, however, never bothered Ghantt. He'd stay up all night, boosted by coffee, waiting for the sunrise over the ocean. Scott Grant said he hesitated, but agreed if no guns would be involved. That's the kind of movie they wanted to make. His collection case closes in two years. In real life: Mostly true. "It wasn't me, it was Steve," she says she told him. The others sat in their cars across the street and watched him struggle to open the heavy gate. He told Steve he hadn't been able to find David. Chambers, now 32, didn't grant an interview for this article, but last year, in response to written questions, he said the biggest lesson he learned was: "Family is more important and valuable than money. Tickle Me Kaczynski: How the Inventor of the Ultimate Elmo Toy Became a Unabomber Suspect, A Highly Questionable Cultural History of Richard Geres Ass Gerbil. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4,. All I needed was a change of pace.". Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. . No regrets. Now two NC men face prison. You've violated that trust. So the last third of the movie is almost entirely fiction. Kelly told the FBI she had done drugs with David but denied knowing about the theft. 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. There used to be a consulate in Cancun. 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. When we worked together [for Loomis], we'd joke about it. Kelly's company. Ghantt:I've burned that bridge years ago. Ghantt worked at Loomis Fargos regional office vault in Charlotte. There, Scott and Eric paced the floor as Steve tried to calm them down. He covers culture, politics, race, and other perplexing mysteries for MEL. 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. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. He had just returned to his home in Jacksonville, Fla., when he agreed to talk about the heist, his life now and what went wrong when a group of friends who thought they could get away with stealing $17 million cash. Scott was so nervous, he said, that he couldn't help. That was the most painful truth to come to. It was one of those things everyone (at Loomis Fargo) joked about, but in time, it became serious. The van door opened. On his second trip, Steve gave McKinney David's hotel address. David was living under the name Mike McKinney on a phony ID. Loomis Armored Shreveport, LA, 1124 Forum Dr, Shreveport, LA, USA Shreveport, LA, USA Req #1990. The plan was to split the money three ways: Chambers, Campbell and Ghantt would each walk away with what Ghantt estimated to be $5 million a piece the kind of money that changes lives forever. His new life in Mexico had begun. And after two years, you're just a file." The robbery of some $17 million quickly became one of the wildest bank heists of the last quarter century. Without really intending to, Kelly recalls, she turned the conversation to the possibility of a heist. Then, I started loading the van., Money, when bound in bulk and stacked in canvas bags, is heavier than you might expect. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. So yeah, Im kind of proud of it.. 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 asked me if I'd mind holding some money for him. ". Why had he ever believed he'd get it? David told her he'd need help moving the money, getting a new ID and leaving the country. Ghantt:It started out as a mental exercise and somewhere between the mental exercise and the actual event, it became serious. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. David didn't even know Steve's name. In February 1998, the FBI tapped their phones and listened to Steve discuss depositing $2.5 million in the Cayman Islands. The Evergreen State takes the top spot again in the U.S. News Best States ranking on the strength of its tech sector and other industries. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. I was looking at small sailboats and theyre not cheap, he tells me. Once in a lifetime, Murdaugh verdict sends a Lowcountry message: No one is above the law | Opinion, Charlotte Waffle House found with live roach, unclean equipment during health inspection. I mean, cause greed is a funny animal. Ghantt:I hate to say it, but I had six years of sitting in a box to think about my life. "He was in tears. Too many questions remained: Where was the cash? Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. A couple weeks pass, and I call again, Hey, Id like to get some more money. I flew from Atlanta to New Orleans. He couldn't talk.". CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM 1998 and ACTORS IN MOVIE. The whole town I was staying in was 98.9 percent Mexican, except for when the cruise ships were in, Ghantt recalls. Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing her. Given his position at the bank, hed be the one to pull off the robbery, and he intended to be ready. Ghantt and one other employee were the last to leave. To celebrate Halloween, about seven of Steve's friends, including Eric Payne and Kelly, gathered for a party at Steve's house. At first, I just blended in with the tourists and picked up a few translation books, Ghantt explains. Though David had said earlier he thought there was $15 million in the vault, the sight of that much cash held them spellbound.