Ghantt and seven others eventually pleaded guilty in federal court to charges directly related to one of the largest cash heists in history while more than a dozen other family members, friends and associates of those involved in the theft were found guilty of related charges, including money laundering. Chambers, it turned out, became the biggest source of evidence for the FBI. 4 million images and real time event coverage from coast to coast , ImageCollect is the only celebrity photo site you'll ever need. Inside the truck, they found Ghantt's ring and surmised this was a sign of Ghantt's intention to end his relationship with his wife. 20 years ago, on the night of October 4, 1997, David Scott Ghantt loaded $17.3 million of cash from the bank vault in Charlotte, North Carolina he was employed to supervise into a van. Three of the 21 defendants in the case haven't been sentenced. A: When you're locked up, you live in an 8-by-10 box and you share that with two other people. Creative Insights. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? Youre better at planning bank heists than David Ghantt. AI Chatbots are Even Scarier Than You Think, DeSantiss Educational Policies Come Right Out of the Fascist Playbook, Erase the Memory to Erase a People? Two days later, when the FBI found the Loomis Fargo armored van, they discovered almost $3.3 million in cash left in the back of the van; it was later discovered that the thieves had miscalculated the sheer bulk of the small denomination currency, and that they simply left the cash that they could not take with them in the back of the van. After years of working hard, the realisation hit . He was the only employee unaccounted for the next morning, and videotapes recovered at the Loomis Fargo Charlotte office showed Ghantt removing "cubes of cash" and loading it into a Loomis Fargo armored van for over an hour. ", The much-faster-than-expected economic recovery thats followed the easing of the coronavirus pandemic has produced several encouraging develo. An additional tip reached the FBI when Michelle Chambers made a large deposit at a bank. Thirteen friends and family members were also charged with money laundering, as they had helped Ghantt, Chambers, Campbell, and the others deposit money illegally. He told me they were in the dirt business, so he didn't have to worry too much about me. But last Oct. 4, when he still hadn't gotten home by 2:30 a.m., she called his parents in. 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. All rights reserved. He made it across the border just as his deception was discovered. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points, How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer. The judge said he would recommend that Michele Chambers be given mental health treatment in prison. They left behind the cash they couldnt fit in their cars. I felt cornered and one day the joking in the break room about robbing the place suddenly didnt seem so far-fetched.. Its kind of out of sight, out of mind, she said of the reasoning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LCR9zyGkbo. In addition to his phone calls with Ghantt, Chambers began extravagantly spending the money, even though the co-conspirators had agreed to lay low for a year or two. Ghantts accomplices soon showed up but now they had another problem. A: I like the 47-year-old David Ghantt more than I did the 20-something David Ghantt. How? Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. David Ghantt is more than just a man who was a part of one of the worlds largest heists, he's more than a funny name associated with a comedy movie, he's actually just an every day person who once made a really bad decision. Collections. One of the best ways to learn more about U.S. history is to make sure youre taking history classes. For the New York State assemblyman, see. That 3-carat ring came back to haunt Michele Chambers at Tuesday's hearing. The Loomis Fargo robbery was one of the largest heists in history, with $2 million in stolen funds still unaccounted for. I stole $17 million, and Zach Galifianakis played me in a movie. While Ghantt waited for the heat from the robbery to die down, Chambers would send Ghantt small amounts of money. Playing upon David's obvious feelings for her, Kelly is the . His partners, who planned to stay behind, agreed to send him his full cut of the money after the heat from investigators had died down. 29 David Ghantt Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images. In fact, David Ghantt was about to commit the heist of a lifetime. The two struck up a friendship during work that would continue after Campbell left the company. hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? Campbell and Chambers made themselves easy to catch, what with their lavish spending. Ghantt's spending in Mexico was extravagant at first. Authorities say Steve. Former Cramerton Police Chief David Young soon got wind of the Chambers excessive spending spree and reached out to the FBI. You have permission to edit this article. 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. Q: Do you ever think about what your life would be like if you had gotten away with the money? But his partners soon began to get greedy and were spending large amountswith Chambers and his wife, Michelle, even buying an exclusive mansion in cash. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or www.Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. his wife-to-be. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. Hes way smarter than youd think he would be because he tends to play Bozos. David Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis), an employee of Loomis Fargo, robbed his own vault, left the $17.3 million in cash with his co-conspirators, Kelly Campbell (Kristen Wiig) and Steve Chambers (Owen Wilson) and fled the country to Mexico. The plan was for Ghantt to commit the robbery and then quickly leave the country for Mexico but to leave the bulk of the cash with Chambers. dvelopper et amliorer nos produits et services. But as Ghantt admitted, the film took some liberties with specific details and characters to make the film funnier. Chambers served 11 years before being released. While listening in, they uncovered another more sinister alleged plan to kill Ghantt. The scary one is stealing the money. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. Theres barely a laugh in the entire film, which looks like it was shot entirely in one take while the actors were still working out their characters. Will California Save the Iconic Joshua Tree? The Current TikTok Ban Doesnt Go Far Enough. David Ghantt worked as a vault supervisor for the armoured cash vehicles at the Charlotte, North Carolina branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. Ironically even though he worked for a company that moved millions of dollars every day, he was relatively underpaid. However, the fact that a man who formerly lived in a mobile home was lavishly spending money on a luxury home ($635,000 in cash), expensive cars, and a ring ($42,000 in cash) eventually made it easy to connect the dots. David Ghantt discovers the true meaning of adventure far beyond his wildest dreams. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers home. (I) bought jewelry, bought a van, Campbell recalled of her own spending. To its credit, Masterminds does nail down the broad strokes of the real story, although there were a couple of noteworthy details the film left out. I knew that if I did something like that, I would take a huge amount of money, Ghantt said of the brash robbery on an upcoming episode of CNBCs Super Heists, airing Monday at 10 p.m. Ghantt, a U.S. Army veteran, was living a relatively boring life working as the vault superintendent at a Loomis Fargo armored car warehouse just outside Charlotte, North Carolina making a relatively meager paycheck, when he crossed paths with Kelly Campbell. On Oct. 4, Ghantt sent home the employee he was training and disabled two security cameras near the vault in preparation for the heist. We were two paychecks away from being homeless at any given time.. Her reaction seems so far away now, all these years and a Hall of Fame career later. The Election, U.S. Foreign Policy, And Harold Pinter's 2005 Nobel Lecture, Nate Parker on Rape Allegations: 'I Don't Feel Guilty'. An elderly American couple who went missing in Greece in late January this year were discovered dead in Taygetos mountain range. While making only eight dollars an hour in his role as supervisor, Ghantt decided it was time to do something: I was unhappy with my life. 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. They received sentences and probation ranging from several years to 11 years and three months in federal prison for Steve Chambers, who was also fined more than $3,500,000. I did get to meet him. But there was just one thing the group hadnt been counting on: the massive weight of that amount of cash. Ghantt was joking in the breakroom with fellow Loomis Fargo employee Kelly Campbell. He also took various measures to change his appearance, such as shaving, after a patron at a restaurant pointed out to him that he "looked like the man who robbed a bank of $20 million. Over the next months, Ghantt, Campbell, and Chambers developed a plan. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone, Police identify victim who died Wednesday in Greensboro's 11th homicide of 2023, William Sturkey: Chapel Hill trustees 'hellbent' on winning campus culture wars, Rob Schofield: North Carolinas chronic public employee shortage wasnt an accident, KFC is bringing back a fan favorite after a nearly 10-year hiatus, Richard Groves: What the 'He Gets Us' media campaign says about the decline of Christianity, Two Things: Victim's family not surprised by no show; hospital wars in Greensboro and money well spent, Mark Elliott and Jeremy Rinker: Budget reductions at UNCG punish it for serving disadvantaged students, Samet: Guilford County wanted more black-owned businesses added to construction project after the bids were opened, Former Page High School teacher arrested on child sex charges, records show, Proposed rules for Airbnb, other short-term rentals advance in Greensboro, 'A bizarre case': Greensboro TikTok star found not guilty in fatal 2019 crash, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist proposes community hospital in Greensboro, Greensboro police officer involved in confrontation on Golden Gate Drive resigns, Jaydon Young's lessons of sacrifice mix with two-hour transfer, Virginia Tech and 2023 tournament. Outside the building, Ghantt met up with Campbell, Chambers, and others who were involved in the plot, and drove off to a printing business called Reynolds & Reynolds in northwest Charlotte. (His wife tells him to change that word to "selfish."). It's the little things like that that gnaw on you. Across the border in Mexico, Ghantt was also living it up. FBI security footage of David Ghantt in the midst of the Loomis Fargo heist. Ghantt was the vault manager. Whisler told the judge that the couple had searched for a new house before the theft, and that Michele Chambers bought rubber bands from Wal-Mart to count the money the night of the crime. Authorities said they hired a man named Michael McKinney to meet up with Ghantt and kill him, under the guise that he was planning to give Ghantt more of the money he was owed. The police then called the FBI because most of the money handled at the facility belonged to banks, which technically made it a bank robbery a federal offense.[5]. Ghantt added, I really enjoyed the movie. Both were involved in the second-largest cash heist in U.S. history, in which a group of people stole $17 million from the. START or Stop: Do Nuclear Weapons Treaties Matter? He had never been in trouble with the law. Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, though he was released on parole after five. Do you still have contact with him? I realized a lot of things that were wrong with me as a person. Q: North Carolina native Zach Galifianakis portrayed you in "Masterminds." By Dustin Rowles | Film | September 30, 2016 |. Dont worry, its not drug money.. In 97 me and my wife were just barely scraping by, Ghantt recalled in Mondays episode. I knew that if we could stay off the radar for about a year, we could basically live a vacation life, Ghantt said. You've decided to give up on a part of your life. My name is David Scott Ghantt. The College Entrance Examination BoardTM does not endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with the owner or any content of this site. 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 . A: I hate to think about what I'd be doing if I hadn't gotten caught. Finally, in March 1998, the FBI traced a call from Ghantts phone and he was arrested in Mexico. Michelle Chambers received a harsher sentence than Ghantt seven years and eight months because she had violated several bond conditions. The Proposed TikTok Ban Goes Too Far. David Ghantt struck up a relationship with fellow Loomis Fargo employee Kelly Campbell, and they continued to maintain contact even after Campbell left the company. [1], This robbery was the second-largest cash robbery on U.S. soil at the time, as only seven months earlier, on March 29, 1997 in Jacksonville, Florida, Philip Noel Johnson stole $18.8 million from the Loomis Fargo armored vehicle he was driving.[2]. 20 years ago,on the night ofOctober 4, 1997, David Scott Ghantt loaded $17.3 million of cash from the bank vault in Charlotte, North Carolina he was employed to supervise into a van. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. [citation needed], The defendants were the targets of many barbed jokes in Charlotte and across the country, in part because of their extravagant spending. Within two days, the investigators found the van with $3 million in cash and the security camera tapes inside. Naturally, Ghantt started to run out of cash and turned to Chambers, who was annoyed by his requests for more money. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. #CLXGaming#CLXRa#evokethegods 1 2 Officers responded just after 5 a.m. Wednesday to an area near the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Carolyn Coleman Way and found , "The Wall Street Journal just so happened to have a supportive op-ed ready to publish within hours of the meeting. I figured it had to be me. I got no real complaints, not at this point., The heist became the premise for the movie,Masterminds, released in September 2016. The move bought him a little extra time to make his escape. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. It was an open-and-shut case and all authorities had to do now was to find the culprit and identify Ghantts accomplices. Separating the Red and Blue. Nous, Yahoo, faisons partie de la famille de marques Yahoo. Michele Chambers 1998 BMW for sale following the prosecutions of the Loomis Fargo heist conspirators. Chambers would then occasionally wire Ghantt money and see to his basic financial needs; when "the heat was off," Ghantt was to re-enter the U.S. and the money would be split up among all of the co-conspirators. ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score, How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, Is the ACT easier than the SAT? The odds of you actually getting away with something these days is pretty damn slim. There is nothing of value in this movie. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantt's personal safety; they had learned that Chambers had plotted to have Ghantt killed in a murder for hire scheme using a "hit man" named Michael McKinney. Jared Hess directed Masterminds, and god bless the guy, but if Gentlemen Broncos and Nacho Libre were not proof enough that Napoleon Dynamite was a fluke, Masterminds should seal the deal. U kunt uw keuzes te allen tijde wijzigen door te klikken op de links 'Privacydashboard' op onze sites en in onze apps. Chambers wife, Michelle, bought a minivan in cash and began taking frequent trips to the bank to make deposits. But neither of those things would matter after he met Kelly Campbell. so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. David GhanttRetweeted Iraqveteran8888 @Iraqveteran8888 Dec 9, 2022 Elect me President and I'll fire everyone, free Julian Assange, and pardon Edward Snowden. Guided by federal sentencing rules, prosecutors had requested a sentence of nine years for Michele Chambers. Chambers and his wife Michele moved out of a trailer and into a luxury mansion in a nice neighborhood. 33. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The FBI (Leslie Jones, Jon Daly) made easy work of the case, however, and everyone involved was eventually arrested and imprisoned. Harper Beckham and her dad David Beckham dressed in matching black outfits as they headed to a Paris Fashion Week event being thrown by Harper's mom and David's wife Victoria . 5 min read. What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? Over the years many of his social . All rights reserved. The judge said he doubted she would be able to pay the $4.8 million restitution, but said federal law required him to impose it. From Oct. 6 through Feb. 20, the couple made 47 deposits totaling $271,500 at a Belmont bank, and at. But because he still owes millions to the IRS, he couldnt be paid. Michele Chambers' sentence was two months longer than that given to David Scott Ghantt, the Loomis employee who removed the money from the company vault on Oct. 4, 1997. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females. Als u uw keuzes wilt aanpassen, klik dan op 'Privacyinstellingen beheren'. EDITORIAL. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. Meanwhile, David Ghantt was relaxing on a beach in Cozumel, Mexico. Learning about US history? The chief running joke in Masterminds is the Prince Valiant 'do gamely sported by Galifianakis as David Ghantt, . Fed up, exhausted, and seeing a way out, Ghantt agreed. A former co-worker told me, "Everybody has screwed up. Defense attorney Jim Griffin laid out his team's side of the case to the jury for more than two hours, arguing . I got to eat my meal perfectly, but every 5 minutes, someone wanted to shoot a selfie with Zach or an autograph from Zach. And with that, David Ghantt took off for Mexico. Todd Williamson/Getty ImagesDavid Ghantt attends the 2016 after party for the Hollywood premiere of Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo heist that he helped carry out. . Based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery. Wij, Yahoo, maken deel uit van de Yahoo-merkenfamilie. When Ghantt called Chambers to have the latter wire him more money, Chambers sent just a few thousand dollars. So he hatched a plan to rob his employers. 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. David Scott Ghantt Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. He left his wedding ring behind and spent his days spending money on luxury hotels and scuba diving. C hristopher David Ghantt Phone Numbers (704) 678-8911. This Wednesday marks the 20th anniversary of the notorious Loomis Fargo heist. His wife, they said, got breast implants and used cash to purchase a 1998 BMW Z3 sports car. The brother of a man killed by a woman now charged with murder in Chambers County said he sees similarities in his brother's case and the case of woman's latest husband's death. Besides wearing the ring, driving the BMW, and living in the new house, prosecutors say Michele Chambers helped others deposit millions of dollars in safe-deposit boxes in the area, and that she took $200,000 in cash into a Salisbury bank in November 1997 and came out with a $200,000 check. 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. Ghantt believed the new employee would make a good replacement for his wife, but the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated. Instead, the two started hanging out on the beach together and became friends. David Ghantt was the vault supervisor for Loomis, Fargo & Co. armored cars, which managed the transportation of large sums of cash between banks in North Carolina. Its about the 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery also known as the hillbillly heist the second largest cash robbery in the history of the United States. Philosophically, now looking back I wouldnt be who I am now if I hadnt gone through all that, said David Scott Ghantt in an interview with the Observer. Theyre meant to be trailer-park trash, but they come off as character experiments on a bad night at the Groundlings. The additions come as KFC recently removed some menu items, including wings, popcorn chicken and cookies, to make room for new additions. The painful part is that when you get caught, that the part of your brain that was trying to talk to you when you first started the robbery was right, and that's like a dump truck running over you. But before thehit could be carried out, the FBI swooped in and arrested Ghantt and the others. They got to work planning the straightforward heist that would rely on Ghantts existing access to the vault, fewer staff at the warehouse on the weekends, and the ability to use one of the companys armored trucks to make the successful getaway. Her husband, Steve Chambers, whom prosecutors have called the main defendant, began serving an 11-year sentence earlier this year. The former star . The couple was married for 22 years before her untimely death in 2012. Once the hitman Chambers had hired arrived in Mexico, he found that he couldnt bring himself to kill Ghantt. Investigators also found Ghantt's pickup truck, abandoned at the warehouse. The Army veteran and Hunter Huss High graduate was captured in Mexico five months later when one of the others involved in the theft, Steve Chambers, decided he needed to tie up loose ends by having Ghantt killed. Michele Chambers' sentence was two months longer than that given to David Scott Ghantt, the Loomis employee who removed the money from the company vault on Oct. 4, 1997. I knew it was over then, Ghantt said. More than 2 million dollars is still missing to this day. He then proceeded to load about $17.3 million in cash (approximately $11 million of which was in $20 bills) into the back of a company van. Did you know that the SAT offers subject exams, too? We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. Answer: The painful one is getting caught. 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. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy a Toyota Sienna minivan in two cash installments. Here, he amps up the most obnoxious excesses of his entire cast and lets their grating bad-improv skills run amok. "Wells Fargo and Loomis forming armored car company", Last edited on 21 February 2023, at 16:45, Learn how and when to remove this template message, painting of Elvis Presley on black velvet, "FindACase | United States of America v. Steven Eugene Chambers", "The Unperfect Crime | New Dominion Pictures", "Sunday Evening/Late Night September 9, 2001", "Loomis Fargo heist: Q&A with guy who stole $17 million", "MASTERMINDS - Movie Production NotesCinemaReview.com", Ghantt and other gang members arrested in March 1998, Steven Chambers released from prison; announces he is a "retired criminal", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=October_1997_Loomis_Fargo_robbery&oldid=1140756292, Overcoming the mindset that led to the part David Ghantt played in the Loomis robbery and how he started on a new path was the subject of the book, Within days of the robbery, the case was depicted on the television criminal reporting show, An expanded two-hour special episode of the crime documentary series. All of the cash from the Loomis Fargo heist was recovered or accounted for, except for $2 million. Thats the big thing. Now looking back, with the life I have now, Ive got a great family, got a great kid. Q: You say your time in federal prison changed you. Campbellwho was married herselfrepresented something new and exciting. The missing couple were identified as David Harrison Robinson and his wife Lucretia Robinson. Project #ShowUs. Even though they drove away with less than they had initially intended, they still had more than $17 million in hand. Once the heat was off, Ghantt would return and they would split the haul evenly. So he hatched a plan to rob his employers. Two days after the heist, the FBI found the missing van with $3.3 million of cash left in it. And drastic it was. David Ghantt : I had a hard time liftin' it up. I learned that I was an a--hole. ABC7 Eyewitness News Watch Now The next day, Steve and Michelle Chambers, Kelly Campbell, and four others were arrested.[6]. As it turns out, the heist did in fact go as well as you might expect. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. 1) David Ghantt is underpaid and unhappy. When I interviewed for this job about three years ago, I told (my boss) that I had some dirt in my background, and if he went digging for it, he would find it. He had stayed in a luxury hotel and paid for expensive food and activities such as scuba diving and parasailing. Defense lawyer Andy Culler sought a seven-year, three-month sentence. Ill never pay it off on my paycheck, Ghantt said. 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. When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. Bubbling under the surface, however, was a deep frustration at the way he was treated. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points, How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer, Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests. In spite of Chambers assurance that the money was, you know, totally not illegally acquired, the teller remained suspicious, especially because the stacks of cash still had Loomis Fargo wrappers on them. It was over. Some of the friends and family members received parole, while Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.