Masterminds (2016 film) - Wikipedia Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. Thank you! And once he started, he didn't stop with one cartful. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]. Hes a family man with a wife and daughter. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist - molecularrecipes.com Sun, sand and beaches are all part of why Jacksonville is a popular destination. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. He has a regular life now, but 25 years ago, Ghantt was the mastermind behind the third-largest bank robbery in U.S. history. 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. LeVaughn Kelly Campbell (born July 23, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former football wide receiver. David knew this was important from having followed the recent news about a Florida man who had brazenly committed the biggest heist from an armored-car company in United States history, a loner named Philip Noel Johnson, who also had worked for Loomis. Its attracted workers like Ghantt. It has a certain feel, a smell and weight to it. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. He knew they were nervous outside waiting for him, but he also knew he wouldn't stop stealing until he had taken everything. That movie, Masterminds, was filmed in 2014. Ghantt didnt know the full extent of what was happening back home -- how that lay low plan turned into a flurry of extravagant spending. She had attitude. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. WOMAN GETS TIME IN LOOMIS HEIST - Greensboro News and Record On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. And they could barely afford the minimum payments, given the power bills, phone bills, car insurance bills, and home payments they had to meet. Discover some of the worlds strangest ancient places. From there, the money was moved from the armored car to private vehicles. In the movie: Campbell invites Ghantt to a restaurant under the auspices of a date, but then springs the idea of the heist on him, as Chambers and two associates join the conversation from an . How Did David Ghantt, Kelly Campbell, Steve Chambers Steal More Than Spunk. David Ghantt And The Loomis Fargo Heist: The Outrageous True Story 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. 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. 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Marine Fisheries Commission advocates for water quality, North Carolina the only state allowing unnecessary killing of sea turtles, 'Pagan' bike gang leader in N. Carolina sentenced to prison, Deputy cleared in shooting death of Gloucester woman, Beaufort amends charter to allow four-year mayoral term. true story that has captivated American audiences on the news and now on the big screen in the major motion picture, Masterminds. 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. Twenty years ago this Wednesday, a small group of people stole $17 million in cash from the main vault of a Loomis Fargo & Co. armored-car warehouse in west Charlotte. she asked again. Ghantt reported to Chambers that his supply of money was running low, but Chambers sent Ghantt just $8,000. She had previously been making frequent small deposits to avert suspicion. He angrily hung up the phone at Loomis, Fargo & Co., his soon-to-be former employer in Charlotte, North Carolina. In the end, the FBI was able to capture the original gang in five months, snaring 21 individuals for their participation in the crime. It, too, has changed hands several times. But this time on the phone, Kelly wasn't joking. America's Dumbest Heist! (True Crime Documentary) | Real Stories There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. All of the co-defendants were arrested the next day, about six months after the heist. The unsolved crime mystery of Marilyn Sheppard. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Remember why you were elected! You can garnish wages. More calls between the two men, and also between Steve and Kelly Campbell, made it clear that the group was starting to turn on David Ghantt. 'When you have money, you just have different problems': The Loomis Also charged with money laundering were innocent relatives and friends who had co-signed safe deposit boxes. They also found several stacks of money with Loomis bands still attached throughout all the homes searched. In Reservoir Dogs, released just five years earlier, the pawns in a robbery knew each other only by assigned colors: Mr. That was the thing that sticks in my mind to this day.. 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. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) During one overnight shift, a bumbling conspiracy of thieves just west of Charlotte stole more than $17 million from Loomis Fargo. He added that money can be a motivator for anyone. This website uses cookies and some data tracking to improve your experience and serve adverts, We assume you're ok with this, you can opt-out if you wish. Its in the ether. Now, at 7:45 p.m., with all the money finally inside the van, his aching muscles could take a breather. David was supposed to be showing him the ropes of the job, which included cash pickups and deliveries. In his youth, his mother had taken him to Sears and JCPenney, but as a man he shopped at Walmart, and while he knew there was nothing wrong with that, he wished he could afford more. David told Kelly they would have to control themselves and not spend the money too quickly, because the FBI could electronically trace a suspect's recent spending activity through bank papers, credit card records, and land transactions. Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. None of the suspects had been in any serious trouble before this. You have permission to edit this article. But being the vault supervisor at Loomis Fargo had one perk -- exposure to tons of cash. He waffled on the heist idea three or four times from late August to mid-September. Spunk. And they hit the jackpot -- FBI video shows agents recovering most of the stolen cash. Inside the truck, they found Ghantts ring and surmised this as a sign of Ghantts intention to end his relationship with his wife. The loot would later be divided among David, Kelly, and Steve. Campbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantt's feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. In fact, he had recently finished a book about the FBI and felt it provided insight into the agency's investigative techniques, insight he thought could help the little gang succeed. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all., WSOC TV facebook feed(Opens a new window), Part 2: Channel 9 speaks with the man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago, ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east Charlotte, mom says, ALSO READ: Leader of $3M check theft, bank fraud scheme in Charlotte area sentenced to prison, ALSO READ: Man released from jail, accused of robbing banks while wearing electronic monitor, police say, ALSO READ: Suspect from south Charlotte bank robbery found, CMPD says, NCSHP arrest driver accused of nearly hitting 2 students at bus stop in Statesville, CMS delays opening of new school meant to ease overcrowding, Mooresville orders removal of memorial at park after teens death, Chick-fil-A announces app data breach, tells customers how to protect personal information, Charlotte woman celebrates $1 million scratch-off prize, WSOC - TV Public File Contact / Program Director, WAXN - TV Public File Contact / Program Director. "I'll need help moving the money, getting a new ID, and leaving the country," he told her. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. The case resurfaced in the federal courts on Thursday, Sept. 1, when the U.S. 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. : The $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy aToyota Siennaminivanin two cash installments. David and the trainee left the warehouse. But what the bank didnt tell Michelle, and Michelle didnt know, was that one of those forms get filled out if you ask about it, or if its close to $10,000 or if they suspect that any part of that transaction is suspicious, Wydra said. The same applies to trolling, the use of multiple aliases, or He knew it would mean leaving Tammy. Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. They Had 17 Million Dollars and No Sense at All - AMW Magazine The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. 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. Since Ghantt was the supervisor, he sent his co-worker home first. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. We are happy to work with other website publishers. - Jeffrey Guller, who at 81 is by far the oldest of the Loomis defendants, still owes almost $1.1 million on his original court debt of $1.14 million and will remain on the governments books for another four years. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. Steve began talking about wiring money to overseas accounts, and even purchasing a nightclub. 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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About six months before the Charlotte theft, on March 29, a total of $18.8 million was taken from Loomis, Fargo in Jacksonville, Fla., in what was believed to be the largest heist in U.S.. 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. Seven Charged In $17M Heist - CBS News He has been a staff writer for the Star-Ledger in New Jersey since 2000. They had to be extremely careful not to tip off the group, as they could lose potential conspirators or more information important to a conviction. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. 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Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. "I was unhappy with my life. 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. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. Her case closes in 2025. Money. As a child, he had preferred reading to playing sports, and he would say, as an adult, that although he couldn't have told you "who was on first," he knew as a kid who the Egyptian god of the dead was. Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000.