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Agents found out where Ghantt was living because Chambers had put out a hit on him, foolishly believing Ghantt was the only person the FBI had fingered for the crime. . Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing her. I had a four-hour layover there, and then from New Orleans to Cancun.. . It wasn't known whether anyone would receive it. Question: Any contact with Steve Chambers or any of the others involved with the heist? His mobile home was nicely furnished, on eight acres with a stream in the back. They heard Michele brag about her $43,000 ring. Alert: Obviously, spoilers abound. Michele received the best gift of the night. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. One of them tapped him on the back. On his second trip, Steve gave McKinney David's hotel address. "I said, 'That's all they gave me,' " McKinney recalled. At the end of October, Kelly was sentenced to 5 years 10 months in prison. He comes to my door, and hes got a brown paper bag in his hand. 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. Zach always plays that bumbling kind of lunatic, but hes not, Ghantt says. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. . I couldn't understand why I hadn't been more successful," David said. He grabbed the tapes from two VCRs that connected to 16 security cameras. 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. But McKinney never stopped trying to kill Ghantt although, initally, McKinney thought Chambers had paid for the hit over a drug deal gone bad, Diamant said. Now that Kelly believes she has found Jesus, she has become more analytical about her past. In real life: True. "He said, 'Yeah, right,' and turned his head. Ghantt knew Chambers as Steve, but didnt find out that his last name was Chambers until the arrests were made. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. Kelly, she says now, was thinking about how happy she would be to send this man far away from her. He didn't want to abandon his parents. Michelle Chambers received seven years and eight months, while Steve Chambers was handed an 11-year sentence. In the two days after the robbery, agents interviewed more than 100 people, most connected with David. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. Ghantt:It's a comedy. Steve had another conversation with Kelly about killing David. 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). Inside the Mazda, Steve told Scott Grant to get out and help David. He played high school football at Mays High School in Atlanta, and college football at Georgia Tech . Some of the biggest numbers remaining on the Loomis collection board, as is the case with Campbell, belong to those who played the biggest role in the crime: David Ghantt, the Loomis employee who loaded all that money 2,800 pounds in all into the back of a company van before escaping to Mexico, has paid just under $50,000 of the $3.81 million he was assessed. Steve told me to tell [David] whatever was necessary to keep him happy.". He was doing what the rest of us were doing making bad decisions. He appeared happily matched with his high-spirited wife, Michele, and the two children from her first marriage. Ghantt:I've always known that story had potential to be a comedy or a drama. In real life: True. Steve, who had sworn Kelly, Eric and Scott to secrecy the night of the theft, named them all to the FBI. 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. One night in a small North Carolina town, a down-on-his-luck guard at Loomis Fargo manages to steal $17 millionliterally more than one ton of cash. The top-ranked pie in North Carolina doesnt look like pie at all. Thatd be the time to do it, Ghantt recalls. On his way out, he grabbed the surveillance video, hoping to cover his tracks. 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. Kelly said she had reason to believe Steve might be able to pull off a heist. I missed my wife. Theres no management around. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Because lets be brutally honest: Theyre not wrong, okay? ', "He asked me if I'd mind holding some money for him. In that time, I realized most of my problems were because of me. I've got a good woman.". Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. Things were spiraling fast. "For the first year, they're all over you. But the idea of all that money pulled at her. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. There was in fact a basically similar conversation involving Chambers and Campbell that took place during a barbecue the Campbells were hosting. They stocked a wine cellar. ". 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. She was devastated, Diamant said. 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. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. She could walk under the trees, with the chickens and goats and dogs that live around her mobile home. Question: You were a consultant? real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist (No Ratings Yet) . 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. Not Ghantt. She laughed for like 45 minutes. There were times when I drank really heavily.". Ghantt started at Loomis Fargo in 1994, and soon worked his way up from an armored car driver to a vault supervisor. By late November, McKinney made a third trip to Mexico, saying he'd help David move to Mexico City. 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. 1-4-3 is 'I love you.' At the party, Steve invited Michele's stepfather, truck driver Dennis Floyd, to the basement to play pool. Though David had said earlier he thought there was $15 million in the vault, the sight of that much cash held them spellbound. When he landed in Cancun, his first stop was Walmart. 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. When he walked onto the plane, he was wearing big, tall cowboy boots, where hed stuffed a majority of the smuggled cash. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. Steve solicited two others to help move cash during the theft. >> 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,. The next day, Kelly drove back to Steve's mobile home to watch the news with Steve and Michele. David had grabbed $50,000 cash, but could figure out only how to carry $25,000 with him on the plane. This is where it starts to unravel, Ghantt tells me with a wry laugh. "But, I hate to admit it, it doesn't faze me one bit. Here's what Floyd recalls: After two games of pool, Steve told him, "You know, we do a lot of gambling. Exhibit A was that Steve had no steady job but plenty of cash. He said every year he files his taxes and the IRS takes all of his tax return. Inside were, along with other personal items, his keys and wedding ring. Ghantt went on to explain that he rarely even looks at his debt statement to the government, but believes the IRS says he still owes them $3.8 million. Did you get paid? If you want me to leave, Ill leave. Then, Ghantt went into another room. Kelly Jane Campbell, a former Loomis employee; Michael L. McKinney . 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. Federal prosecutors would ultimately charge 21 defendants in the case, including the Floyds, who were charged with (and pleaded guilty to) money laundering. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. Besides her prison sentence . Come for the Chumbawamba, and stay for the return of the Mack. I studied up on the FBI. Then another. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. "I thought he was goofing around.". Thats where they feel comfortable., This piece of information would become critical to his getaway plan. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. The phone rang: Kelly had a problem. We got to the end of the day, and he was acting like he wanted to linger. He placed stacks of currency on a cart and wheeled it to the van about 15 feet away, inside the building. All rights reserved. For reasons that remain obscure, Robert spilled the beans to David. Or that it was an inheritance. Throughout the multi-year-long case and subsequent trials, journalists often referred to Ghantt and the others as trailer trash and hillbillies. 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.. We spoke to the FBI agents who investigated the case who say the real-life. On Feb. 27, agents listened in on a call from David to Kelly and learned David's location in Mexico. A couple weeks pass, and I call again, Hey, Id like to get some more money. If you want to go ahead and go, I got it. . The FBI, in fact, obtained the evidence they needed to bring down the major players, including Chambers, after catching them talking about the murder plot on the telephone via wiretap. "It wasn't me, it was Steve," she says she told him. Mine did. She also assured the teller her cash wasn't drug money. It wouldn't work, Kelly told him. In early November, Steve lured the real Mike McKinney, an ex-Marine, to North Carolina from his Illinois home. 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. Military + Veterans. "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. "She said, 'What would it take to convince you to do it?' Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. That led to better jobs, like the one at Loomis. Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. Steve told her to send David to Atlanta on a bus and drive back to the trailer. But former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt can. . They put up mauve wallpaper. Ghantt was working as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte in 1997, earning about $8 an hour and tired of his humdrum life. David quickly realized he was the intended victim. They loaded the wine cellar with Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Steve hung a velvet portrait of Elvis Presley in the basement. The teller, who hadn't asked, filed a "suspicious activity report." Actor Owen Wilson plays him in the movie, which includes the real names of all the major players. A third tape he didn't know about kept recording. In a word, "Teamwork. Though he never found the right moment to carry out the hit, McKinney did find time to make a friend--a shady character named Robert, to whom he revealed more than was prudent. He was also a former FBI informant who had tipped the bureau off to a planned robbery of a Loomis Fargo armored truck that never came to fruition. In early December, Steve and Michele invited relatives to their daughter's sixth birthday party. As soon as Corey left, I pretended like I was leaving. David was excited, jabbering about their future together. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. In real life: Mostly true. The plan called for David to leave the vault door ajar, then maneuver a few minutes alone at the end of his shift, long enough to loot the cash, then pass it to Kelly and Steve. "I said, 'Yeah, sure.' . . 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. The mystery 1-4-3 caller had been Kelly, though agents didn't know it yet. There, Scott and Eric paced the floor as Steve tried to calm them down. Question: Are you surprised that Hollywood took this on as a movie? "But I had to know.". They sweated, though the night was cool. Health savings account and flexible spending account. After years of reflection and time in prison to work on himself, Ghantt was able to find a way to a better version of himself. . Ghantt:Since I still owe the federal government money I can't get paid. ". This time, David told McKinney the truth. But it didnt really hit me until later., On March 2nd, when the FBI agents walked up to Ghantt in Playa del Carmen and told him he was under arrest, Ghantt was relieved. He and his wife, Tammy, lived in a mobile home in Kings Mountain, N.C. Money was always tight. Reach our Customer Contact Center by calling 877.877.0560 from 6:30 AM to 11:30 PM CT every day or by completing the provided form. Hes going to start bringing you money. Alright. 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. Ghantt worked at Loomis Fargos regional office vault in Charlotte. Sandra Floyd, Michele Chambers's mother, remembers the first time she saw the house. Question: What made you, Chambers and the others think you could get away with this? kellis@gastongazette.com 0:04 0:57 On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. Key benefit components include: Health insurance plans. Question: You went to Mexico. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. Hed be in contact. 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. They agreed that after the heist, David would immediately move to Mexico, alone, but Kelly would soon join him there, with her two children. But first they wanted to know if it was a robbery or a robbery-homicide. The name she gave the pup is apropos. Once I start something, Im going to the end., As for how he felt in the moment, he says, Imagine me and you went on an airplane. What made her abandon an ordinary existence to commit this spectacular, doomed crime? On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. She never really worried about the moral end of it--she was focused only on getting what she wanted out of life, what so many others seemed to have in this booming part of the South. So it was weird when during the middle of the week, there were these very clean-cut, very Midwestern looking, obviously American guys in the town. Careers. I knew I was going to be the prime suspect. Scott Grant said he hesitated, but agreed if no guns would be involved. He had even scheduled a follow-up appointment at the dentist. ];Kelly Jane Campbell [Misc. Now worried about both the FBI and McKinney, he spent even more time alone in his room. And I knew that by that time, Id be in Cancun no matter what. Some received probation for money laundering, many others did hard time. "I wanted to be more like my mom and dad were.". But it was the rural, Southern backgrounds of many of the key players, along with the many botched twists and bungled turns, that led the media to dub it the hillbilly heist.. But after a year, they'll cut it down to two agents. "I said, 'I don't want him killed.' There was, however, one problem with his plan. Kelly drove her pickup to a lot across the street from the Loomis building, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte. The cart held about $2 million, and the thief made multiple trips. The pager entry was 1-4-3. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. Visit us at Loomis.us. My love for my family is by far the most important thing in my life. Some family members hid money in bank deposit boxes, other friends were asked to mule cash to the Cayman Islands. Given the presence of the surveillance tapes and a gun belonging to Ghantt, they started with Ghantts phone and pager records and discovered a pattern they attributed to an accomplice. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward for his arrest and conviction. The Chambers, however, didnt fit in with the other members of the gated community. So I was glad it was over. 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. 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. 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. 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. In real life: False. Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. I'll never pay it off on my paycheck." Dental plans . Ghantt ultimately agreed to the plan, largely, due to a mountain of credit-card debt and in hopes of changing his life for the better. I said, Probably, the best time would be on the weekend; theres fewer people there. At first, I just blended in with the tourists and picked up a few translation books, Ghantt explains. He hated the sweet smell of the green ink, and the $8.15-an-hour salary. 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. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. . Question: How much of 'Masterminds' is true? These days, the 52-year-old husband and father lives in Jacksonville, Florida, where he works at a heavy equipment rental agency. David thought about it. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. He worked fueling airplanes, driving a forklift, and in 1994 he got a job as a vault superintendent at Loomis. She was like, Well, at least you had guts, he says. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. This was in the 1990s the Columbia Airport back then was closed at around 9:30, 10 oclock. 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. About 10 frantic minutes later, Scott found the right key. She came from a blue-collar background, a high school dropout who had grown tired of working in a mill and gotten an equivalency diploma. If I hadn't done what I did the, the life I have now with my wife and child, I wouldn't have. On the evening of October 4, 1997, one man loaded $17.3 million in cash from the vaults of Loomis, Fargo & Co. into the back of a van. Not a documentary. He wouldn't give me the opportunity to say anything else. 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 Mountain. 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. 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. To say nothing of their art purchases like the aforementioned velvet Elvis portrait and a painting of a bulldog dressed as General George S. Patton. "A lot of people out there had it worse than me, but . Gaston County residents remember how that worked out. No dry runs, no rehearsals.