real life kelly campbell loomis fargo

She just called me up on the phone and said, Hey, lets meet one day after work. And then, we were talking and she says, How do you feel about robbing Loomis Fargo? Ghantt tells me. Ghantt was already married when he took part in the heist, to a woman named Tammy who author Diamant described as very nice. It is true, however, that she had no idea about the plot and that he fled to Mexico without telling her. She could walk under the trees, with the chickens and goats and dogs that live around her mobile home. Three weeks after the theft, Steve and Michele moved from their Lincoln County mobile home to a $635,000 house in a gated Cramerton, N.C., neighborhood. The only person not to plead guilty in the case, former Gastonia attorney Jeff Guller, ended up doing eight years for money laundering. In real life: True. Until, that is, he decided to hell with it he was going to pull-off the second largest heist in U.S. history. At 6-1 and 220 pounds, Steve was stocky and imposing, a fast talker with a brown goatee. ". He has no contact with any of those convicted with him in the crime, including his former wife, and doesn't plan to see the movie, he said. 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. 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. Things were spiraling fast. No hard feelings. He partied, met women, drank, skied and hung out at the beach. It changes you. His mobile home was nicely furnished, on eight acres with a stream in the back. There was a third person with them, too, a man named Eric Grant. In real life: False. Now he offered to pay him to carry cash to David--Steve said he was a friend hiding out after a bad drug deal, McKinney recalled. David, now 30, says he's sorry he abandoned his wife--who he says still loves him--and his family. A few of the Loomis restitution cases have already been closed either because the amount was paid in full or because the 20-year clock wound down. 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. To celebrate Halloween, about seven of Steve's friends, including Eric Payne and Kelly, gathered for a party at Steve's house. . He realized that if they met the minimum monthly payments, the bill would take 30 years to pay. When Chambers and the two Erics were done loading the stolen millions into barrels, they abandoned the van in the woods. Thatd probably been the best thing for me to do, really. David thought about it. He pocketed the money and told Chambers and Campbell to send him his cut in Mexico. 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. The top-ranked pie in North Carolina doesnt look like pie at all. . He played high school football at Mays High School in Atlanta, and college football at Georgia Tech . On his second trip, Steve gave McKinney David's hotel address. I'd probably change jobs. 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. Steve had another conversation with Kelly about killing David. By the time the month concluded, the couple had purchased a 7,000-square-foot stone mansion in a gated country club community. He hated his job, with its 12-hour shifts. Ghantt:I've always known that story had potential to be a comedy or a drama. Him and I still talk every now and then. 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. I missed my wife. Michele told her mother she and Steve had been saving gambling winnings for the down payment. These days, the 52-year-old husband and father lives in Jacksonville, Florida, where he works at a heavy equipment rental agency. Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. Its hilarious. . Health savings account and flexible spending account. Everything came crashing down on an early March morning in 1998. Did you get paid? 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. Few who were living in the area at the time can forget the "Velvet Elvis" painting Chambers had hanging in his mansion or the tales of cosmetic surgery, BMW convertibles and other signs of excess. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist seeing a woodpecker after someone dies lectomano que significa. Come for the Chumbawamba, and stay for the return of the Mack. Why did this Charlotte engineer leave her job? Kelly was lying. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. To protect themselves, David and Steve didn't meet or talk. The FBI's final challenge is finding the remaining $2 million. . Question: Do you ever think you could have been killed? Kelly says she underestimated the value of her life before the heist. In the first days after the arrests, agents recovered or accounted for all but about $2 million of the stolen money. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. For his part, Ghantt was now officially on his way to Mexico, his future stretched out before him. "That would be living on the run, and I didn't want my kids to live that way. 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. I flew from Atlanta to New Orleans. 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. 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. They heard Michele brag about her $43,000 ring. On Nov. 12, a confidential informant told the FBI about Steve Chambers's move from mobile home to mansion. He worked fueling airplanes, driving a forklift, and in 1994 he got a job as a vault superintendent at Loomis. The Chambers, however, didnt fit in with the other members of the gated community. Posted on . David was excited, jabbering about their future together. When we worked together [for Loomis], we'd joke about it. ". The cart held about $2 million, and the thief made multiple trips. 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. . I studied up on the FBI. Exciting. Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing her. Scott was so nervous, he said, that he couldn't help. 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. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. The phone rang: Kelly had a problem. As you probably know, it's loosely based on the Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte back in the late nineties. Now worried about both the FBI and McKinney, he spent even more time alone in his room. I knew it was just a matter of time. 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. Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. Things started to go south the night of the robbery. Back in North Carolina, Ghantts former accomplices were living high on the hog. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. Kelly found herself standing beside David while they waited together for a bond hearing. He learned to parachute. The movie was overly silly and, based on a post-screening conversation with former Observer reporter Jeff Diamant who wrote a detailed 279-page book about the occasionally funny but mostly just-plain fascinating crime, titled Heist much of what wound up in the film is fiction. And I was thinking about just showing up there. But because David's relationship with his Loomis bosses had been rocky, he says, he doesn't feel sorry about what he did to the company. They tried to break the van's bulletproof windows. Hes going to start bringing you money. Alright. 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,. "Love" has four. . A report by the General Accounting Office found that as of budget year 2016, $110 billion in restitution ordered by the federal courts was outstanding and that more than 90% of the amount had been classified as uncollectible.. I loved it. 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. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. Or does it sit in an offshore account, waiting for a prison sentence to end? Thomas Grant, who served three years in prison for bank larceny, paid off restitution of $70,000; brother Eric Grant paid all of his $26,000; as did David Craig, $40,000; and Dennis and Sandra Floyd; $27,000. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. Campbell was another employee at Loomis Fargo and she and Ghantt quickly struck up a relationship, one that Campbell denies was ever romantic though FBI evidence says otherwise, and one that continued after she left the company. 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. The others sat in their cars across the street and watched him struggle to open the heavy gate. In real life: False. Michele received the best gift of the night. 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. The next week, they heard Steve plan to send Mike McKinney to Mexico to kill David Ghantt. You might as well take it all, Ghantt tells me. . The pager entry was 1-4-3. But first they wanted to know if it was a robbery or a robbery-homicide. "I was thinking, 'They aren't paying me enough,' " McKinney recalled. Kelly's company. 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. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. So yeah, Ghantt continues, I took a bus from there to Atlanta, and then I hopped a cab from the bus station to the airport in Atlanta., Back in North Carolina, his accomplices were working as fast as they could to hide the $17 million. Field Operations; Corporate; Why Loomis. Because surprise! Ghantt:I've burned that bridge years ago. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. They were the butt of a national joke. He had even scheduled a follow-up appointment at the dentist. 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. "He was in tears. There was, however, one problem with his plan. Then another. The last time he called me, he said, Hey Ghantt, I just saw a big Loomis Fargo truck. Ghantt:It's a comedy. Kelly drove David to the airport. Thatd be the time to do it, Ghantt recalls. In real life: Mostly true. Steve had already paid McKinney $50,000 for the use of his ID. 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. I just want people to go to the movies and have a good laugh, even if it's at my expense. Best States is an interactive platform developed by U.S. News for ranking the 50 U.S. states, alongside news analysis and daily reporting. 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. Where I was going was right there near the Cayman Islands. The authorities didn't know yet how much was missing from the armored-car company, but Steve did. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. She'd heard his stories of other successful schemes, like getting refunds on phony tax returns, or operating a loan shark business. In that time, I realized most of my problems were because of me. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. Two days after theyd robbed the Loomis Fargo truck the very same day the police found the abandoned van in the woods Steve and Michelle Chambers walked into a bank and deposited their cut of the stolen money into their account. Her husband gave her a brown teddy bear. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. Now two NC men face prison. Before long, the tales of high living by Chambers and his now former wife, Michelle, led the thieves to be labeled either the "Cramer Mountain Hillbillies" or "The gang that couldn't steal straight." . 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. Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. 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. As soon as Corey left, I pretended like I was leaving. Steve was sentenced to 11 years 3 months in prison. I had a four-hour layover there, and then from New Orleans to Cancun.. 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. Because lets be brutally honest: Theyre not wrong, okay? 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. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. He para-sailed, power-skied and scuba-dived. Copyright 2022 TheAssociated Press. That led to better jobs, like the one at Loomis. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM 1998 and ACTORS IN MOVIE. This real-life crime is the core of "Untitled Armored Car Project," which stars Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson and Kristen Wiig. That was the most painful truth to come to. This time, David told McKinney the truth. 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. It will be some time before she can commune with domestic animals again. Yes, Carrie Underwood adopted a dog in Charlotte. I was burned out and just didn't know it. Even still, he was 27, married and struggling to provide for his family. You see, there's a reason Loomis Fargo used armored cars to move large amounts of cash. There it was, "The Heist." Dependent care account. In a word, "Teamwork. Though David had no criminal experience, he felt he could offer expert advice: He'd just finished reading a book on the FBI. Steve told Scott to ignore the remaining stacks, which were mostly ones and fives. 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 didn't want to abandon his parents. Loomis employees drive the very core of our business. He didnt even really question me. The audacity of the act was breathtaking. "As soon as you start, you realize there's no going back," David recalled. From Mexico, David usually spoke with Kelly on the phone once a week, paying with calling cards. Gaston County residents remember how that worked out. Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. Ghantt was working a late shift, and just after 6:30 p.m., his coworkers were packing up and heading for home. He goes, My name is Bruno. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. Some days, the robbery seems like a memory from a different life, a choice made by a different man. Theres some things I want to do., Ghantt planned on traveling from Mexico to the Cayman Islands, bypassing customs along the way. 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. Ghantt says he operates a bulldozer for a small company. Its everything thats coming north.. Theres less security. First, in January, he tried to get someone to take some millions down to Mexico. ". I had to go in there and tell her the whole story, and she was real cool about it. . In 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. Actor Owen Wilson plays him in the movie, which includes the real names of all the major players. You might as well go all the way now.". He had stolen $17 million from Loomis Fargo. LeVaughn Kelly Campbell (born July 23, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former football wide receiver. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. But I thought this is me being hard-headed Im going to ride this thing to the ground. And so thats what I did.. "He said, 'Yeah, right,' and turned his head. But as he later recalled to the media, as soon as he stepped through those big-box doors, he realized he was flush with cash, and he didnt need to shop at Walmart ever again. If you want me to leave, Ill leave. Then, Ghantt went into another room. [Kelly] told me, 'Just think about it.' Thats where they feel comfortable., This piece of information would become critical to his getaway plan. About 5:45 a.m., he got into his pickup and began the 45-minute drive to work in Charlotte. Truth was, David wanted more than help leaving, he wanted company. Chambers did hire McKinney to kill Ghantt, but initially McKinney was making personal cash deliveries to Ghantt in Mexico on behalf of Chambers. By then Id figured out that Bruno was up to no good, and that Id probably never seen any more of my money. "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. David told her he'd need help moving the money, getting a new ID and leaving the country. Scott Grant said he hesitated, but agreed if no guns would be involved. "I said, 'That's all they gave me,' " McKinney recalled. shes now Miss USA. In real life: False. I said, Probably, the best time would be on the weekend; theres fewer people there. Zaron Burnett is an investigative journalist and longform features writer based in Los Angeles. 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. "I've moved on with my life," he said Tuesday. . You're an idiot.'". ", "Even then . He said every year he files his taxes and the IRS takes all of his tax return. Kelly relayed his message to Steve. Ive never taken offense to anything like that, he tells me. What made her abandon an ordinary existence to commit this spectacular, doomed crime? 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. His assignment was to deliver the cash to David and keep him happy until they could find a way to kill him, McKinney said. I'll never pay it off on my paycheck." Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward for his arrest and conviction. Ghantt worked at Loomis Fargos regional office vault in Charlotte. A third tape he didn't know about kept recording. Steve tried keys on a side door. As for his new wife, when the two just started dating, he was nervous about letting her know about his past, but he wanted to be honest. 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. 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. First, they loaded the cash into blue 55-gallon barrels, and then they moved the barrels into a rental van. 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) Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. 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. Campbell, a former Loomis employee and one of the original masterminds of the caper, has paid off less than $21,000 of the $4,701,694.18 she was docked. Or that it was an inheritance. But agents weren't ready to arrest Kelly and Steve. They paid for all of it in cash. Kelly Jane Campbell, a former Loomis employee; Michael L. McKinney . Not until David was gone did Scott realize he didn't know which key to use. His wife, Tammy, was as shocked as Loomis officials. He wouldn't give me the opportunity to say anything else. One of them tapped him on the back. Chambers, who still lives in Gaston County and operates a gym, declined to comment. Called Masterminds, the 2016 film stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. Hed be in contact. In real life: True. I did every touristy thing you could possibly do while I was down there. The Loomis Fargo Bank Robbery was the $17.3 million cash robbery of the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of Loomis Fargo & Company on the evening of October 4, 1997, by armored car driver and vault supervisor David Scott Ghantt. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. They sweated, though the night was cool. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. They obviously werent trying to get it right they were putting together what they believe is a better story, said Diamant. Truth be told, Ghantt had something of a crush on Campbell, and so, he told her exactly how hed pull off such a heist. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. Though David had said earlier he thought there was $15 million in the vault, the sight of that much cash held them spellbound. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward after the theft. "Think of how many women would have stood by. He comes to my door, and hes got a brown paper bag in his hand. Question: Should people go see this movie? But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. He frequently entertained there, buying steaks for his guests. Ghantt didn't actually meet Chambers until the night of the heist, though, according to Diamant, who would go on to write a book about it.The . "I was unhappy with my life. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. She also must . Depression had led to smoking a lot of marijuana and taking Prozac, a combination she figures affected her judgment. Thats nearly $11 million less than former Kings Mountain resident David Ghantt (played by Galifianakis in the film) helped steal from the vault where he worked in Charlotte back in October 1997. I hear her typing. And it turned Steve into he thought he was Don Corleone all of a sudden.. 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. ', "He asked me if I'd mind holding some money for him. 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. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. and "I love money!" Then he was driving in the darkness with a van full of cash. 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.. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. Basic and voluntary life insurance plan. 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. . Despite a mega-watt cast featuring Zach Galifianakis and a handful of some of Saturday Night Lives biggest current and former stars, Masterminds, the comedy about Loomis Fargo robbery completely tanked at the box office in its opening weekend, bowing in sixth place with just $6.6 million. ", "I wouldn't do it. 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. There was in fact a basically similar conversation involving Chambers and Campbell that took place during a barbecue the Campbells were hosting. Too many questions remained: Where was the cash? He and his wife, Tammy, lived in a mobile home in Kings Mountain, N.C. Money was always tight. Our Benefits. But in November, money ran low. At the party, Steve invited Michele's stepfather, truck driver Dennis Floyd, to the basement to play pool. "She said, 'What would it take to convince you to do it?'

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