Another surveillance videotape shows the man loading the bags into a company van. He needed more money, consequently, he called up Chambers and asked him to wire him some. In the first couple of weeks, they had heard both Steve and Shelley bragging about their new-found fortune, and spending remarkable amounts of money. The bank was robbed on Oct. 4, 1997, by one of their security guards, David Ghantt, and his girlfriend, Kelly Campbell, a former employee at the time. Ghantt began to complain vocally. In the end, he carried as much as he could and just tossed it into the van. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. He and his wife, Michelle, moved from their mobile home in Lincoln County to a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section of Cramerton. When he was done, the man drove off to a nearby printing press, where the money was distributed into private vehicles amongst a handful of people. Probably very egotistical of me, I though yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. The Gaston Gazette interviewed Ghantt, whos now in his late 40s and living as a free man in Florida. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. He have since served time in prison for the crime, and told Channel 9s Glenn Counts he learned a valuable lesson while behind bars. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Chambers was a small cheater who suggested to Campbell that they perform Loomis Fargo heist. I ride motorcycles and fish -- normal guy, Ghantt told Counts. Where things stand in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial The 2016 comedy movie, Masterminds is based on the story of the Loomis Fargo Heist. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it," Ghantt said. $17.3 million in cash was robbed from the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of Loomis, Fargo & Co. on the evening of October 4, 1997. I worked sometimes 75-80 hours a week for $ 8.15 an hour, I didn't even have a real life at home because I was never there, I worked all the time and was unhappy, which is understandable considering how old I was then. From the start, David Ghatt was considered to be a prime suspect. Culler acknowledged that she had overheard her husband and co-defendant Kelly Campbell talk about the plan, ``but she thought it was fantasy world.'. David Ghantt was the Treasury Supervisor for Loomis Armored Cars, Fargo & Co. Their relationship continued after she left the company. Question: Are you surprised that Hollywood took this on as a movie? Did you get paid? Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Friends of Campbell had also begun spending large amounts of cash. This was why he devised a plan for the Loomis Fargo heist. 5 min read. 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. Sun, sand and beaches are all part of why Jacksonville, Florida is a popular destination. I don't want to be mean, but that's probably the dumbest thing they could do. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. The man at the center of that heist was David Scott Ghantt. Ghantt:It baffles me to this day. Fact check: Is there much truth to the new Masterminds movie? Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. I felt stiff and one day the jokes during the break about the robbery of that place suddenly didn't look so obvious. "I work construction. On the evening ofOctober 4, 1997, the Loomis Fargo & Co branch in Charlotte, North Carolina was in the process of being plundered. As Campbell would later explain, If David got killed, there couldnt be any finger pointing. Investigators eventually connected Campbell and Chambers to the robbery, which led to the arrest of more than 20 people. David Ghantt struck up a friendship with Kelly Campbell, a coworker who saw eye to eye with him. It's based on the true story of David Ghantt (Galifianikas), a vault supervisor at the Charlotte Loomis Fargo depository in Uptown Charlotte that was involved in the second largest cash robbery in history, making off with $17.4 million ($25 million today). How I held it together is beyond me, Ghantt said. We spoke with the inside man, David Ghantt, to get the real story . When did you conclude yeah Im actually going to do this? Counts asked. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward after the theft. Heres how to catch up on one of the Charlotte areas strangest stories. During a layover in Florida, they learned that Ghantt was already on his way back to the U.S. with authorities, but they flew to Cancun anyway and rented a car to reach Playa del Carmen, a resort town. By Sue Anne Pressley. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. $17.3 million in cash was robbed from the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of Loomis, Fargo & Co. on the evening of October 4, 1997. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. First, they tapped the Chambers phone, and began listening in on February 11th, 1998. Guided by federal sentencing rules, prosecutors had requested a sentence of nine years for Michele Chambers. All Rights Reserved. . Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. You can cancel at any time. So I guess I have no regrets. After loading the massive cache of loot into the armored truck, Ghantt set the time lock on the vault, which locked the door for days unless the employees drilled through the lock. It was Chambers' extravagant spending after the Loomis Fargo heist that led to the arrests. Surveillance tapes and photographs showed a man who the FBI believes is Ghantt taking bags of money and putting them onto a cart in the vault at Loomis, Fargo's offices in Charlotte. They also bought a BMW Z3 with cash and made several large purchases, not wanting to keep a low profile. Within the next two days, investigators found an abandoned van with the security tapes and a staggering $3.3 million! The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. In that time, I realized most of my problems were because of me. Since he was the only employee unaccounted for the following day, they checked the tapes for clues. . However, he was released for good behavior after serving only five of them. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. 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. The events that led to the Loomis Fargo heist started with Ghantt entering a relationship with fellow employee Kelly Campbell. To find out more about how the thieves got caught and how long they landed behind bars, tune in the Super Heists on CNBC on Monday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. "So it's one thing to go from up here, thought, to action," he said. Kelly : Oh, it's a real magical place. Once they were in custody, the overwhelming task of clearing out possessions possibly purchased with the stolen money began. Ghantt made his way to Mexico, where he hid for several months. On Oct. 5, 1997, Ghantt carried out the heist during his regular shift after sending another employee home, stealing more than $17 million from the bank vault. David Ghantt had been a model employee for an armored car company before pulling off the second biggest cash heist in U.S. history, fleeing with more than $17 million in untraceable bills in 1997. Ghantt:I've always known that story had potential to be a comedy or a drama. What we know. Question: Any contact with Steve Chambers or any of the others involved with the heist? The bandits had such a sudden influx of cash that they didnt know how to spend it. ``I'm glad she didn't get nine years,' said Sandra Floyd, her mother. Just outside of the building, David Ghantt met up with his girlfriend, Chambers, and others involved in the plot. This was all the evidence the authorities needed. . Once Ghantt loaded the large haul from the vaultwhich could have been close to $20 millioninto a truck, he planned to drive to a second location, then head straight to the airport and fly to Mexico. Before long, the FBI had wiretaps on the ringleader, Steve Chambers, and then they waited for the right time to make their arrests. . The plan was for Ghantt to commit the Loomis Fargo heist and then quickly leave the country for Mexico. David Ghantt had been a model employee for an armored car company before pulling off the second biggest cash heist in U.S. history, fleeing with more than $17 million in untraceable bills in 1997. 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. David Scott Ghantt speaks with Channel 9's Glenn Counts 25 years after the robbery. 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. He has been open about what he did and how he believes it changed him for the better. It was nearly the perfect crime, but while Ghantt fled to Mexico to lay low, his partners' lavish spendingand their own alleged plans for murderwould ultimately be the group's demise. 1998 The Associated Press. Chambers also promised to join Ghantt in Mexico as soon as she could, but she admitted to Super Heists she never had any intention of actually making the trip. The Loomis Fargo heist happened in Charlotte, North Carolina when this bank was the target of a robbery. I knew it was over then, Ghantt said. Masterminds.2016.MULTi.1080p.BluRay.x264-CINeHD. This company employed 8,500 people and provided armored transportation, cash handling services, and automatic teller machine maintenance. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later David Scott Ghantt speaks with Channel 9's Glenn Counts 25 years after the robbery. On the fateful day of Oct. 4, 1997, Davit Ghantt decided to proceed with the Loomis Fargo heist. #inline-recirc-item--id-91a2c54e-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { The reason for this was because, after the Loomis Fargo heist, the thieves had miscalculated the sheer bulk of the small denomination currency. Several cars and nine safety deposit boxes were seized, authorities said. Then Campbell turned his attention to her boyfriend. En marzo del 97, la empresa fue vctima del llamado "robo del siglo": un empleado se . } David Ghantt normally came home between 6 and 8 p.m., and often he was late, his wife said. Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect 2021 museumfacts.co.uk | All rights reserved. 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 . It was one of those things everyone (at Loomis Fargo) joked about, but in time, it became serious. In all, they recovered $6.6 million. Steve Chambers would keep the rest . The Loomis Fargo Bank Robbery was a robbery of $17.3 million in cash from the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of 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 four other co-conspirators. The tapes showed Ghantt removing cash cubes and loading them into a Loomis Fargo armored van for over an hour. Ghantt:It's a comedy. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. Even if Campbell denies the relationship was ever romantic, the FBI evidence says otherwise. More than 20 people were arrested by the FBI, making this one of the largest heists in history. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later David Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. You have to remember that it's Hollywood and they'll take what was a minor event and they'll blow it up and make it as funny as they can.". Word trickled in to the FBI that Ghantt had a romantic interest in a former coworker, Kelly Campbell, who one day visited a Toyota dealership to purchase a minivan with twenty-dollar bills. #inline-recirc-item--id-91a2c54e-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-91a2c54e-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { ``This defendant was second to Steve Chambers in (benefiting) from the crime,' he said. 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