Its attracted workers like Ghantt. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. Of course the most famous thing inside the home was a velvet Elvis portrait. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. But things didnt quite work out that way. Although the FBI investigation was able to quickly connect Ghantt to Campbell, connecting Ghantt to Chambers was a more difficult task. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. He called Kelly to say he was coming and hopped into the driver's seat of the loaded Loomis van. Heist!: The $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft - amazon.com As it neared its end, David stealthily left the vault door ajar. 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. If it didn't work out, he could return to the United States later with a new identity. FBI video shows agents searching the Cramer Mountain home and finding stacks of cash. In Gastonia, David would run into high-school classmates who had never struck him as especially smart. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. 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. 'Can I Keep the Velvet Elvis?': The Great Hillbilly Heist of 1997 The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. 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. 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 biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. SEVEN NABBED IN CHARLOTTE HEIST\ - Greensboro News and Record 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. Now and again I run into blog posts that tends to make me want to get started on bloggin myself. 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. Low 46F. A third surveillance tape was carelessly left behind, and the company was able to identify the man who robbed the vault as David Ghantt. After hanging up on her, David returned to work. LeVaughn Kelly Campbell (born July 23, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former football wide receiver. 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. 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. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. The actual crime itself required none of Hollywood's imagination. The unfairness gnawed at him, stirred by Kelly's questions. They involve Loomis armored car driver David Scott Ghantt. "I'll need help moving the money, getting a new ID, and leaving the country," he told her. Was the temptation too much? Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. After discussing his job, his marriage, and his everyday struggles, they joked about Loomis and about how easy it would be to steal from the place. The unsolved crime mystery of Marilyn Sheppard. In addition, he also rented Mike his own apartment, paid him $400/weekly and bought him a gun. America's Dumbest Heist! (True Crime Documentary) | Real Stories Now one of the most wanted men in America with the FBI hot on his heels, Ghantt must figure out how to get his money, get away from a hit man, and get even. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. The defendants received sentences ranging from probation for several relatives to over 11 years in federal prison for Steve Chambers. "I've got a friend," she said, "who can hook you up with a new ID.". They had met in December 1995 on one of her first days at Loomis. He shut the empty vault and set its timer so the vault could not be opened for two or three days. 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. Its in the ether. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. For example, 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 gang made numerous mistakes. It should have been easy, but for some reason the gate didn't open for him. (LogOut/ VERDICT The first edition of this work was published in 2002. He was a hard worker, smart enough, and had graduated from high school. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. He has been a staff writer for the Star-Ledger in New Jersey since 2000. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. ", "I don't need any more friends," she'd shot back. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. Over the next two weeks, David thought about it. Ghantt had fled to Mexico with $50,000 in cash, leaving the rest of the money with Steve Chambers. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. Later that year, he saw a newspaper ad for a job at Loomis Fargo. We are happy to work with other website publishers. The $17 million was stolen last Oct. 4 from the armored-car company's vault in Charlotte. His collection case closes in two years. 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. 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. To be brutally honest, it was that morning, Ghantt replied. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. The $17 million Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, North Carolina, was the second largest armored car robbery in U.S. history. kelly campbell masterminds - clydeautorepairs.co.uk By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantts personal safety; they had learned of Chambersmurder for hirescheme. Human nature is a flexible part of life, Gronquist said. They also bought aBMW Z3with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 statue of aNative American. The police almost immediately called theFBI, since 95% of the money handled at the facility was owned by banks. contact us to submit an unexplained mystery article, or to join the team on the email address below. 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. It's been 20 years since the Loomis Fargo heist. - Charlotte Observer He deserved better. There was a book published in 2002 as well, by author Jeff Diamant called,Heist! He had since held one low-paying job after another. A couple by the names of Steve and Shelley Chambers also became people of interest in the investigation due to their extreme sudden increase in spending. Jim Gronquist was Campbells defense attorney. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. The participants in the heist also spent lavishly on fancy jewelry, fancy cars and breast enhancement surgeries. 'When you have money, you just have different problems': The Loomis There was no reason to leave anything, he felt. They didnt expect it.. When some friends stole a stop sign from a busy intersection, David made them put it back. An additional tip reached the FBI when Michelle Chambers made a large deposit at a bank. Of course the problem was, the money belonged to someone else. (LogOut/ Man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago now a 'normal guy Who was she to be pressuring him? ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. The real story behind the second largest bank heist in history, which That was the thing that sticks in my mind to this day.. Johnson had stolen $18.8 million earlier in the year, on March 19, 1997, only to be caught five months later, in late August, while crossing into Texas from Mexico to retrieve some of the money, which he'd hidden in a shed in mountainous western North Carolina. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. How did they get away with stealing more than $17 million? You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. Im married, I got one girl, shes 15 going on 30. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. I appreciate your kind words! None of the suspects had been in any serious trouble before this. NASCAR. He would then have the bulk of his share sent south of the border. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. 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. First, they tapped the Chambers phone, and began listening in on February 11th, 1998. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done. That way, outsiders couldn't see money being loaded. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. In David's eyes, Johnson's big mistake was that he did it alone. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. 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. A more immediate need was securing help to move the stolen money to safety the night of the crime. Thirty years! sole discretion of the site administrators and repeat offenders may FBI video shows the agency searching that home and finding drawers full of cash. I actually loved reading through this post. Breakdown by congressional district, States' push to define sex decried as erasing trans people, North Carolina Supreme Court hears felony voting rights case, North Carolina House GOP modifies rules on veto overrides, N. 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