Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward after the theft. Day in and day out he drives an armored vehicle, transporting millions of other people's money with no escape in In preparation for what lay ahead, David had backed an unmarked company Ford Econoline van near the vault entrance and opened the van's back door. David Scott Ghantt. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. He realized that if they met the minimum monthly payments, the bill would take 30 years to pay. Davids crush and former co-worker, Kelly Campbell (Kristen Wiig), approaches David about robbing the very company that he works for.Despite the lack of Why would you want this story to be told and to enjoy this? Steve Chambers and Kelly Campbell, who had been friends on and off since growing up together in the mid-1980s, were at a cookout, playing cards and drinking Budweiser at Steve's Lincoln County, N.C., mobile home, Kelly recalled. EDITORIAL. . "It wasn't me, it was Steve," she says she told him. . The money was heavy. He stayed at a luxury hotel and took scuba diving lesson. Day in and day out, he drives an armored vehicle, transporting millions of other peoples money with no escape in sight. Collections. 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. David was excited, jabbering about their future together. Though Wydra is retired, 25 years ago, he was an agent with the FBI. The case had gotten national publicity and was the subject of numerous articles, documentaries and even a movie. SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination BoardTM. It will be some time before she can commune with domestic animals again. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. "He showed me a lot of money," McKinney said. That day, FBI agents also would arrest Scott Grant and Eric Payne, who had spent his share of the money on a motorcycle and breast implants for his wife and two sisters. Web1997 - David Scott Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis) thought being an armored car driver would be a dream come true. She will never get beyond the debt. The amount of money stolen is correct. It didn't quite pan out that way. The site features a collection of unexplained, strange and odd mysteries. Ghantt says he believes in redemption, and that his mistake 25 years ago brought him all the things that are important in his life today. I just wanted to restart. He worked fueling airplanes, driving a forklift, and in 1994 he got a job as a vault superintendent at Loomis. LRM: When you first heard the story he was there to get rid of you, what was your reaction? 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. 1 employee killed, 2 injured at Tennessee Volkswagen plant. Why had he ever believed he'd get it? hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? A comedy film called Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo heist and starring Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, and Jason Sudeikis, was released in 2016. David Ghantt is a simple man stuck in a monotonous life. The CEO and co-founder of the company that is responsible for Arkane Studios. You said that was the number two question. Of course the problem was, the money belonged to someone else. He told him McKinney was in Mexico to kill somebody. CREATIVE. Im assuming you dont have any more contacts with your co-conspirators. . candace faulkner age; water boiling The FBI recovered several million dollars in a van found in Mecklenburg County, but about $14 million in cash is still missing, authorities said. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Steve tried keys on a side door. David Ghantt: The number one question is usually, What made you do it?. To celebrate Halloween, about seven of Steve's friends, including Eric Payne and Kelly, gathered for a party at Steve's house. They had met in December 1995 on one of her first days at Loomis. Kelly called David at Loomis; he told her he'd be ready for them with the cash at 6:30 or 7 p.m. Alone in the building, David was trying to finish loading cash from the vault into an unmarked white Ford Econoline van belonging to Loomis. The defendants received sentences ranging from probation for several relatives to over 11 years in federal prison for Steve Chambers. I was also made myself available on set in case if someone wanted to talk to me. They involve Loomis armored car driver David Scott Ghantt. There had been no signs. David quickly realized he was the intended victim. WebThe 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, Ghantt believed the new employee would make a good replacement for his wife, but the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated. David Ghantt: In my way of thinking, you are part of the story and people will talk about you regardless. . Money'll turn your head, I don't care who you are. Within a few months, they were arrested. They decorated their 6,000-square-foot stucco house with antiques, paintings and statues, including a six-foot wooden Indian that Michele had bought for $600. 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. But those documents paint a picture of people who were middle-class (at. Scott, 26, had a larceny conviction as a teenager, but he'd since cleaned up his act and now had a steady job, a daughter and a girlfriend. My name is David Scott Ghantt. Ghantt, who had been with the bank since 1994, was promoted from driver to vault supervisor in 1997, where he earned $360 a week and befriended Kelly The FBI heard about the plot and agents knew they could no longer wait. Custom Content. He had an endearing smile, a beautiful wife and two children. The participants in the heist also spent lavishly on fancy jewelry, fancy cars and breast enhancement surgeries. While she made small deposits at first, she became more reckless, eventually making a deposit of thousands of dollars in cash, telling the teller not to worry: Its not drug money. Its comedy. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. An officer rang the doorbell. Who was she to be pressuring him? ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east. 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. Immediately after the theft, Ghantt took an amount lessthan $30,000* and fled to Mexico. Said Ghantt, one day life kinda slapped me in the face. "He said, 'Yeah, right,' and turned his head. There were things in real life that my compatriots did that was pretty comedic and stupid. Kelly found herself standing beside David while they waited together for a bond hearing. Depression had led to smoking a lot of marijuana and taking Prozac, a combination she figures affected her judgment. The cast included Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones, SNL veterans who would also co-star in the 2016 remake of About 5:45 a.m., he got into his pickup and began the 45-minute drive to work in Charlotte. All six were charged with aiding, abetting and counseling the commission of a bank larceny and being accessories after the fact, and hindering Ghantt's apprehension. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. He was the only employee unaccounted for the next morning, and videotapes recovered at the Loomis Fargo Charlotte office showed Ghantt removing cubes of cash and loading it into a Loomis Fargo armored van for over an hour. David Ghantt: Mostly, it concerned for Zach [Galifianakis] to have the right shirt and carrying the right pistol. "I was trying to figure out a way to [leave my husband] and take care of my kids without having to depend on him or any other man," Kelly said. The next week, they heard Steve plan to send Mike McKinney to Mexico to kill David Ghantt. If they could just sit on the money until then, he said, they'd be fine. They placed a bust of Caesar in the dining room. Webis david ghantt married to kelly campbell is david ghantt married to kelly campbell on March 30, 2023 on March 30, 2023 Webdavid ghantt wife nowplombon funeral home obituaries david ghantt wife now. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. However, he was released for good behavior after serving only five of them. I wouldnt want to change anything. As with many recent historic events, this one had been caught on videotape, a fact that a few dozen Charlotte FBI agents would learn in a hastily organized Sunday morning meeting. At the end of one session, they wound up kissing outside the pickup. One day, he went to check on it and the lock had been cut. It, too, has changed hands several times. 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. They also purchased expensive cars, jewelry and a breast enhancement or two. He'd stay up all night, boosted by coffee, waiting for the sunrise over the ocean. Masterchef Contestants Who Died, Yes, *that* David Ghantt, lol. dr katie columbus zoo. Agents began picking up signs that David definitely had help: The abandoned Loomis van with $3.3 million in small bills still inside, and phone records showing that somebody beeped him while he stole the money, using David's own cell phone. Her husband, Steve Chambers, whom prosecutors have called the main defendant, began serving an 11-year sentence earlier this year. Sun, sand and beaches are all part of why Jacksonville is a popular destination. It was unclear whether anyone will get that money, authorities said. Working together, they got the gate open, then drove in a caravan to the Reynolds & Reynolds parking lot. Mostly with Zach. ". 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. On Nov. 12, a confidential informant told the FBI about Steve Chambers's move from mobile home to mansion. If we work together, we can all have plenty of pie.. In December, agents got the tie-in they were looking for: Kelly Campbell had bought a $30,000 Toyota minivan with cash and registered it to one of Steve Chambers's aliases. Or does it sit in an offshore account, waiting for a prison sentence to end? LRM: Did you like the portrayal of yourself in the movie? The FBI knew they needed to make their move. And after two years, you're just a file." 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. Every day he drives an armored car, transporting millions with no escape in sight. Webfunny ways to say home run grassroots elite basketball Menu . We talked about the fiction and fact from the movie. The crew was led by David Ghantt, a Loomis Fargo employee that drove the armored truck that transported cash to different locations. Afterward, she and David would talk just occasionally on the phone. I just sat back and waited on my money. ', "He asked me if I'd mind holding some money for him. David Ghantt: When I first met Zach and sat down to talk about it, he said, You realize Im going to be playing a dumber, clumsier version of you. The next day, the Chambers, Campbell, and some other notable parties were arrested in Charlotte. At first, David Ghantt said, "I didn't take her seriously. But agents weren't ready to arrest Kelly and Steve. Together with his wife, Chambers bought a new luxury home (upgrading from his mobile home), a BMW Z3, and some extravagant furnishings. Like David, Kelly was frustrated with her marriage. ". At 6 that morning, FBI supervisor Rick Shaffer led 12 agents and several Gaston County police officers up a winding road on Cramer Mountain to Steve's home. I thought he did a really good job. When we worked together [for Loomis], we'd joke about it. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. WebMenu. The affidavit described Chambers as a former FBI informant who had provided information on another Loomis armored car robbery that never materialized. Kelly, she says now, was thinking about how happy she would be to send this man far away from her. Ghantt labeled himself as a jerk who was dissatisfied with his life before stealing the money. Like I said before, money does weird things to people. "I said, 'Yeah, sure.' She could spend time with her children and parents. Ghantt, who had been with the bank since 1994, was promoted from driver to vault supervisor in 1997, where he earned $360 a week and befriended Kelly Campbell (Wiig), who got Ghantt mixed up in the plans for the heist after she left Loomis. Oneida County Real Property Records, About 200 keys dangled from it. I've got a good woman.". BBC Motion Gallery. Collections. But what did that mean? 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. CHARLOTTE If you didnt live in the Charlotte area 25 years ago, you might not believe it. Ghantt believed the new employee would make a good replacement for his wife, but the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated. He is an uncomplicated man stuck in a monotonous life. Tell us on what was actually real from that movie. Then I realized I needed to be more conservative. Her husband, Steve Chambers, whom prosecutors have called the main defendant, began serving an 11-year sentence earlier this year. His only distraction is his colleague Kelly Campbell, whom he has a crush on. '. The connection to Chambers took more time. #inline-recirc-item--id-91a2c54e-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { 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 trainee didn't know to check to make sure it was closed. Loomis officials--forced to break into their own vault because David had taken the keys with him--calculated that he had stolen $17,044,000, making the second biggest heist in U.S. history, following the $18.8 million theft of an armored car by another Loomis Fargo employee just six months earlier. David Scott Ghantt, 28, was arrested Sunday on an island off the Mexican coast, near the resort city of Cozumel, FBI spokesman William Perry said today. LRM: Do you still have that well-known fame today after being a free man? Steve told her to send David to Atlanta on a bus and drive back to the trailer. Most Facebook users can now claim settlement money. In the game, David has to track down eight Visionaries, and the team has to play a game of cat and mouse. He had stolen $17 million from Loomis Fargo. I don't blame him.". "For the first year after a crime," he told her, "they're all over you, with six to ten agents. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.'. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. In the two days after the robbery, agents interviewed more than 100 people, most connected with David. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM MASTERMIND MOVIE But it was Ghantt, now 47 and living with his wife and daughter in Jacksonville, Florida, who actually took more than 2,000 pounds of cash and just drove away from his job. The police almost immediately called theFBI, since 95% of the money handled at the facility was owned by banks. The True Story of David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo Heist, Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Score, check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars worth of temptation. He told Steve he hadn't been able to find David. It's one of the biggest jokes at the place. How did they get away with stealing more than $17 million? . Everything changes when he meets Kelly Campbell (Kristen Wiig), a new employee at his bank, Loomis Fargo. Enforcement of this policy is at the Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy aToyota Siennaminivanin two cash installments. Still, she wasn't happy. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? . Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. We dont have the manpower to track all that (restitution) money down I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs., Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it,, You can garnish wages. What did you have to do to survive? Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. Steve also offered $100,000 to his 26-year-old cousin. At about 6:40 p.m., he went back inside. He partied, met women, drank, skied and hung out at the beach. Hes a family man with a wife and daughter. In mid-November, McKinney carried $10,000 to Cancun but wound up spending most of it on himself. October was "a blast," he said. Thats probably not the best answer to be honest with you. He loves his motorcycle and enjoys going fishing and, while hes sorry for the past, hes not ashamed to talk about it. About 10 frantic minutes later, Scott found the right key. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. The eight accomplices were also apprehended. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. Library Journal "highly entertaining." I work for a small construction company. Her marriage--at which she was making another ambivalent effort after multiple separations--and even the jobs she'd been able to get with a diploma couldn't come close to providing the kind of life she dreamed about, the life she felt she deserved: a house in the country, a swimming pool, and enough cash so she didn't need to rely on men. Each week, Michele deposited thousands of dollars in cash. Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. Sunny. The College Entrance Examination BoardTM does not endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with the owner or any content of this site. LRM: Do you enjoy the publicity for yourself? With the bandits blowing millions on lavish and ridiculous luxuries, they leave behind a glaring trail of evidence. Then, on a mid-September day, as he reviewed a credit card bill, David did some math. While she made small deposits at first, she became more reckless, eventually making a deposit of thousands of dollars in cash, telling the teller not to worry: Its not drug money. Five years he told how he explains his past like this: "People are very forgiving if you're open and honest right from the start. At 6-1 and 220 pounds, Steve was stocky and imposing, a fast talker with a brown goatee. David got a kick out of her. His assignment was to deliver the cash to David and keep him happy until they could find a way to kill him, McKinney said. While Ghantt waited for the heat from the robbery to die down, Chambers would send Ghantt small amounts of money. WebBank name Loomis, Fargo & Co. on the evening of October 4, 1997, by vault supervisor David Scott Ghantt, his married girlfriend Kelly Campbell (a former Loomis co-worker), Steve Chambers, his wife Michelle Chambers, Michael Gobbies and You've violated that trust. Hes a family man with a wife and daughter. Chambers had told Campbell to do whatever she needed to do to get Ghantt to commit the robbery. Hidden in it was a 3 1/2-carat diamond ring that cost $43,000. "For the first year, they're all over you. The Internet was still new at the time. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. "I was thinking, 'They aren't paying me enough,' " McKinney recalled. AMA In October of 1997, I was a vault supervisor for armored truck company Loomis Fargo, when I made off with $17.3 million. Virginia Police Auction, I was working sometimes 75-80 hours a week at $8.15 an hour. He waffled on the heist idea three or four times from late August to mid-September. Pocketing $50,000 for himself, that man, named David Ghantt, hopped into a car of his own and headed towards Mexico. He appeared happily matched with his high-spirited wife, Michele, and the two children from her first marriage. In addition to his phone calls with Ghantt, Chambers began extravagantly spending the money, even though the co-conspirators had agreed to lay low for a year or two. 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. Human nature is a flexible part of life, Gronquist said. Web29 David Ghantt Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images. Now that Kelly believes she has found Jesus, she has become more analytical about her past. More agents waited outside to arrest them. Hed never really been in trouble, he wasnt a career criminal, said retired FBI agent John Wydra. There it was, "The Heist." Spending years in prison, he said, gave him time to re-invent himself. This time, David told McKinney the truth. But being the vault supervisor at Loomis Fargo had one perk -- exposure to tons of cash. Steve led the planning. Anonymous tips had the FBI monitoring Chambers calls. PFF: Below Average Campbell is the top linebacker on the PFF big board but ranks just 39th overall. Where was Ghantt? Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. She sounded incredulous. Ghantt, who by then was long out of prison, served as a consultant. David Ghantt: There are quite a few small facts and tidbits. That week, the FBI designated the theft its 142nd "major case," putting it on a list--begun in the 1970s--that includes such other infamous crimes as the World Trade Center bombing. Since Ghantt was the supervisor, he sent his co-worker home first. The true part is that Kelly did say, Did you try the backdoor? People did ask questions or they wanted to chat. He drove to the edge of the Loomis compound, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence. First Republic Bank seized by regulators, then sold to JPMorgan Chase, Reward offered as manhunt for Texas shooting suspect reaches "dead end", Louisiana's health care deserts put women, babies at risk, doctors say, Second convoy of U.S. citizens fleeing Khartoum arrives at Port Sudan, ISIS chief killed by Turkey's intelligence agency, Erdogan says, How a tall Texan became an unlikely Australian rules football star, General Mills issues Gold Medal flour recall over salmonella concerns, Investors sue Adidas over Kanye West Yeezy deal, Shaquil Barrett's 2-year-old daughter dies in drowning accident. "But I had to know.". "Don't back out on us. WebIn 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. She could walk under the trees, with the chickens and goats and dogs that live around her mobile home. I was burned out and just didn't know it. Fed up, exhausted, and seeing a way out, Ghantt agreed. "I've learned that I'm a fortunate man," he said. She declined to take a lie-detector test. Meanwhile, Michele Chambers was laughing and saying, repeatedly, "Look at all this money!" But he tried to keep his face averted, so David wouldn't be able to ID him. Then he was driving in the darkness with a van full of cash. Extra Snap Benefits Ct 2022, One of them tapped him on the back. David told her he'd need help moving the money, getting a new ID and leaving the country. She didn't plan to move to Mexico. The others sat in their cars across the street and watched him struggle to open the heavy gate.
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