The $17 million Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, North Carolina, was the second largest armored car robbery in U.S. history. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. The robbery was committed by David Scott Ghantt who was the vault supervisor and accomplices Kelly Campbell, Steve Chambers, Michelle Chambers, Michael Gobies, and other four members. CHARLOTTE If you didnt live in the Charlotte area 25 years ago, you might not believe it. David was thin six-foot-one, one hundred sixty-five pounds and heaving the stacks onto the cart, pushing the cart toward the vault door, and then emptying its contents into the van was exhausting. Im married, I got one girl, shes 15 going on 30. 'Masterminds' Review: Loomis Fargo Robbery Where Are They Now? - Pajiba It's been 20 years since the Loomis Fargo heist. - Charlotte Observer Unexplained Mysteries - owned by Aliens since 2011. Her case closes in 2025. Its a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I went down and talked to them, got to meet Zach Galifianakis and the director, Ghantt said. In this outrageously entertaining book, Jeff Diamant, the Charlotte Observer's lead reporter on the case, offers the definitive inside account of this astonishing. In addition, he also rented Mike his own apartment, paid him $400/weekly and bought him a gun. WOMAN GETS TIME IN LOOMIS HEIST - Greensboro News and Record All of the primary players got fined millions of dollars --for example, Kelly Campbell was hit with more than $4 million, an amount that she will never come close to paying. He realized his life wouldn't improve unless he did something drastic. A third surveillance tape was carelessly left behind, and the company was able to identify the man who robbed the vault as David Ghantt. 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. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. And if that gives people out there a little bit of hope, then Ive served my purpose on this earth.. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. The actual crime itself required none of Hollywood's imagination. He knew it would mean leaving Tammy. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. be blocked or permanently banned without warning. To visit friends.". 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.. He hated his job and his bosses, he'd lost hope in his marriage, he wasn't going to advance at Loomis, and he couldn't afford to quit to enroll in college. Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. Still facing possible unknowns of other people involved, the FBI needed to gather more information without the suspects getting suspicious of them. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. Driving away, he said he felt a mix of fear, confidence and excitement that he outsmarted the FBI. How he felt shorted by life. "But you can still have a cigarette.". Low 46F. And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. The world is full of unexplained events, strange mysteries, and mysterious legends. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. He worked close-by to where the van and over $3 million dollars had been ditched, and was friends with Steve Chambers. Meanwhile, Ghantt's gang spent wildly and paid their family members and friends to hide money. The case had gotten national publicity and was the subject of numerous articles, documentaries and even a movie. Former Loomis employee David Scott Ghantt is accused of stealing the money. Some of that money is just gone. Even with several vehicles, they underestimated how much space they would need and they had to leave $3 million behind. Tips had led the FBI to begin monitoring Chambers (and his wifes) activities, but it was not until the FBIrecorded a phone callfrom Ghantt in Mexico that the final connection was made. Some of that money is just gone. None of the suspects had been in any serious trouble before this. Curiously, Payne had recently paid of his Visa in one payment and had been driving around new and rented vehicles for the past weeks. It wasn't how much you stole that mattered most; it was that you had stolen in the first place. To be brutally honest, it was that morning, Ghantt replied. Ghantt went to Mexico leaving the money with his cohorts, thinking that he could get his share back when he needed it. They involve Loomis armored car driver David Scott Ghantt. The figures can be astounding. They didnt expect it.. For example, Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a. 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. "Just remind Steve," he said, "that I might be trouble my own self." Worlds Biggest Heists London Hatton Garden 200m Diamond Robbery, Easter 2015. He knew his mother would be traumatized, shocked, and appalled. It all went down in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the man at the center of that heist, David Scott Ghantt, now lives in Jacksonville. These cookies do not store any personal information. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. 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. As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to edit or Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. It all seemed unfair. Though much of the cash was already stacked on pushcarts in the vault, other stacks were on shelves or the floor, and they were heavy. The unfairness gnawed at him, stirred by Kelly's questions. "Just think about it," she said. These weren't the hardest of criminals, and though there was logic to not knowing each other's names, they had derived some of their methods from Hollywood depictions of crime. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. He had since held one low-paying job after another. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. 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. They also purchased expensive cars, jewelry and a breast enhancement or two. 25th anniversary of the incredible Loomis Fargo bank heist | wcnc.com uncanny, eerie, unnatural, preternatural, supernatural, unearthly, other-worldly, unreal, ghostly, mysterious, mystifying, strange, abnormal, unusual. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). 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Carolina House GOP again modifies rules on veto overrides, Murdoch says some Fox hosts 'endorsed' false election claims, Havelock officials warn public about alligator near Walmart, Cape Carteret buys new utility vehicle to aid in picking up litter, New taxi, shuttle business seeks license to operate in Morehead City, Report: Navy ships face growing maintenance delays, costs, Fisheries division to survey for-hire watermen, National Enquirer, ensnared in catch-and-kill is sold. He has a regular life now, but 25 years ago, Ghantt was the mastermind behind the third-largest bank robbery in U.S. history. 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. personal/abusive/condescending attacks on other users or goading According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. "What would it take to convince you to do it?" He stayed at it until the vault was empty. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. 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. "its a great readsuspenseful, often funny, just the thing for those wondering what it might feel like to have, as these hapless, small-town criminals did, literally too darn much cash lying around. " The Chambers home is now gated, which means Channel 9 crews cant drive up to it like we used to. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. David and Steve had never met, but Steve had already secured somebody else's birth certificate and social security card for him and given it to Kelly to pass along. Inside the truck, they found Ghantts ring and surmised this as a sign of Ghantts intention to end his relationship with his wife. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. 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. Ghantt had fled to Mexico with $50,000 in cash, leaving the rest of the money with Steve Chambers. Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter. At 2:20 p.m., the phone rang; it was Kelly again.