If I hadnt of done that, Id probably still be in North Carolina and I would not have got to meet a lot of the interesting people that Ive got to meet. David Ghantt (@DavidGhantt) / Twitter The connection to Chambers took more time. Her sentence would've been ``substantially' less if she hadn't kept it, officials said. Kate. Playing upon David's obvious feelings for her, Kelly is the . Ghantt @ChristyGhantt Dec 7, 2022 I just entered the @clxgaming Ra PC Giveaway! The Current TikTok Ban Doesnt Go Far Enough. Zach Galifianakis played David Scott Ghantt, with other roles played byOwen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon. Chambers would hold on to most of the remaining cash and wire it to Ghantt as needed. We caught up with David Ghantt about - The Gaston Gazette | Facebook So with the assistance of a co-worker and possible love interest as well as a small-time criminal, David Ghantt pulled off the then-second-largest cash heist in U.S. history. Learning about US history? Ask below and we'll reply! Authorities say Steve. But as Ghantt admitted, the film took some liberties with specific details and characters to make the film funnier. He was like OK, yeah, we can do that, she recalled. 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. Masterminds which opens nationwide today (though youd be hard pressed to know that given the decided lack of promotion) is proof again that all the talent in the world cannot salvage a bad script, and not even a good screenwriter can make up for terrible performances. Just the ability to come and go as I please and walk barefooted in the backyard means so much. Holding her hands behind her back, Michele Chambers was sentenced Tuesday to seven years and eight months in prison for her role in the $17 million heist from Loomis, Fargo & Co. She was also ordered to pay $4.8 million in restitution.It was the fourth-most severe sentence given in the case, which has 21 defendants. 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. My name is David Scott Ghantt. I stole $17 million, and Zach - reddit We were in Old Fortwhen they were shooting the movie and went out to eat. David Ghantt | World Record Holder and Mastermind Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com, allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. Pour en savoir plus sur la faon dont nous utilisons vos donnes personnelles, veuillez consulter notre politique relative la vie prive et notre politique en matire de cookies. A: I like the 47-year-old David Ghantt more than I did the 20-something David Ghantt. Going to prison helped me grow up as a human being. In fact, David Ghantt was about to commit the heist of a lifetime. Its easy to get somebody to do something if you know that they are that infatuated with you.. 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. They left behind the cash they couldnt fit in their cars. And drastic it was. Of course, I went on a spending spree. They would then load as much cash as they could carry into a van. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Ghantt believed the new employee would make a good replacement for his wife, but the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated. So Chambers decided to solve the problem by putting a hit on Ghantt. An FBI criminal investigation ultimately resulted in the arrest and conviction of eight people directly involved in the heist, as well as sixteen others who had indirectly helped them, and the recovery of approximately 88% of the stolen money. The True Story of David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo Heist, Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Score, check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. $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. Chambers and his wife also made some cash payments on a few cars. We were two paychecks away from being homeless at any given time.. Campbell was receptive and brought the idea up to Ghantt. 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 . The scary one is stealing the money. 121 90 1,443 Show this thread David GhanttRetweeted C.A. I wasnt attracted to him or anything, but he was a nice guy, Campbell said. Ghantt sent home a new employee and quickly loaded the money into the back of a bank van. Chambers served 11 years before being released. Campbell knew theyd need the help of the warehouses vault supervisor, who just happened to have a crush on her, and she called Ghantt to ask for his help. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. As it turns out, the heist did in fact go as well as you might expect. (His wife tells him to change that word to "selfish."). Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. No rift here! Instead, the bandits just started throwing as much money as they could into the van until they couldnt fit anymore. AMA In October of 1997, I was a vault supervisor for armored truck company Loomis Fargo, when I made off with $17.3 million. Ill never pay it off on my paycheck, Ghantt said. I started just chucking it as fast as I could, he said, adding the sweat was pouring off of me.. 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. 4 million images and real time event coverage from coast to coast , ImageCollect is the only celebrity photo site you'll ever need. Ghantt was. ``I'm glad she didn't get nine years,' said Sandra Floyd, her mother. A: Zach and I have a runningtext conversation going, but he's very busy. Michele Chambers declined to make a statement at the hearing. Lindy Hop: The Dance That Defined The Golden Age of Jazz, Inside The Unsolved Disappearance Of Jennifer Kesse, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, David Ghantt attends the 2016 after party for the Hollywood premiere of. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. In the meantime, however, Chambers not only refused to wire money to Ghantt in Mexico, but ultimately hired a hitman (Jason Sudeikis) to take him out. Michelle Chambers received a harsher sentence than Ghantt seven years and eight months because she had violated several bond conditions. Thats the big thing. Ghantts accomplices soon showed up but now they had another problem. But after one visit, she asked a teller "How much can I deposit before you have to report it to the feds?" VIDEO. 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. A: When I first got in, I thought, "What in my life has led me to this?" Dont come to me for a treasure map, Ill put it to you that way., Michael Sainatos writing has appeared in the Guardian, Miami Herald, Baltimore Sun, Denver Post, Buffalo News, the Hill, Alternet, and several other publications . Defense lawyer Andy Culler sought a seven-year, three-month sentence. Memorial services for Bishop David O'Connell began Wednesday night at 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. For instance, after stealing $17.3 million $11 million of which was in $20 bills the conspirators had to leave behind $3 million in cash because they couldnt fit all of it in their cars. While Ghantt spent more than 6 1/2 years in federal prison, he said he usedthat time to"re-invent" himself. He was insecure. 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. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually . Three of the 21 defendants in the case haven't been sentenced. In 97 me and my wife were just barely scraping by, Ghantt recalled in Mondays episode. The FBI knew they needed to make their move. Masterminds is an atrociously bad comedy, and absolutely everyone is to blame. 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. What Happened to Steve Chambers After Prison Fitness Center? It wasa painful process, but I learned to be happy with me and with what I've got. Chambers wife, Michelle, bought a minivan in cash and began taking frequent trips to the bank to make deposits. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. I didnt even know about it and overlooked it, he said. The FBI quickly connected Ghantt to Campbell, who was a former Loomis Fargo employee. On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. Masterminds | On-set visit with Zach Galifianakis 'David Ghantt' The pair were both from the United States but had lived in the Peloponnese region of Greece for the past few years. Ask questions; get answers. Everybody thinks being famous and being an actor is stupendous, and the money is fantastic, but they kind of live in afish bowl. As he later recalled about his life before the 1997 heist that changed his life forever: Prior to, I would have never even considered it but one day life kinda slapped me in the face. 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. Fact check: Is there much truth to the new 'Masterminds' movie U kunt uw keuzes te allen tijde wijzigen door te klikken op de links 'Privacydashboard' op onze sites en in onze apps. During the next few months they bought a BMW-Z3 roadster and tens of thousands of dollars in antiques, furniture and decorations. Jimmy Carter is a Liberal Saint Now, Was a War Criminal Then. My Proof: https://twitter.com/DavidGhantt/status/827476087596789760, My AMA time is up now, but thank you all for your participation in the Ask Me Anything session :-), New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, https://twitter.com/DavidGhantt/status/827476087596789760. They also bought a BMW Z3 with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 cigar store Indian. David Ghantt spent 11 years in the military and now works as a film consultant on the side. But because he still owes millions to the IRS, he couldnt be paid. David GhanttRetweeted Iraqveteran8888 @Iraqveteran8888 Dec 9, 2022 Elect me President and I'll fire everyone, free Julian Assange, and pardon Edward Snowden. So he hatched a plan to rob his employers. In February 2009 the Associated Press reported that Chambers had chosen to describe himself as "changed". Investigators also found Ghantt's pickup truck, abandoned at the warehouse. They asked me how I felt about it and I said, Its my story, but its your movie so have at me. I figured it had to be me. Over the years many of his social . [1] Tips had led the FBI to begin monitoring Chambers's (and his wife's) activities, but it was not until the FBI recorded a phone call from Ghantt in Mexico that the final connection was made. A Comprehensive Guide. On the night of October 4, the plan went into action. He was angry a lot. If you can see the obvious flaw in this plan, namely that Chambers would have no reason whatsoever to actually wire Ghantt any money, then congratulations. I learned that I was an a--hole. But thanks in part to the film, the outlandish story of David Ghannt and the Loomis Fargo heist will surely live on for years to come. . 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. 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. 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 March 12, a Charlotte grand jury indicted the eight co-conspirators for bank larceny and money laundering; the latter offense was included because of how they spent the stolen money. [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]. This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 16:45. Get the latest articles and test prep tips! Do you still have contact with him? Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. EDITORIAL. Because Ghantt was the only employee who wasnt there that morning, he became the obvious suspect. The chief running joke in Masterminds is the Prince Valiant 'do gamely sported by Galifianakis as David Ghantt, . The jokes between Ghantt and Campbell about their disgruntlement with their jobs took on a more serious note when Campbell introduced Ghantt to an old high school classmate of hers named Steve Chambers. Dont worry, its not drug money.. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. I got to eat my meal perfectly, but every 5 minutes, someone wanted to shoot a selfie with Zach or an autograph from Zach. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. Federal Judge Graham Mullen sentenced her to between those lengths. ', He explained the glorification and glamour often associated with bank heists and bank robberies in Hollywood films is far from reality. The missing couple were identified as David Harrison Robinson and his wife Lucretia Robinson. It was an open-and-shut case and all authorities had to do now was to find the culprit and identify Ghantts accomplices. The Loomis Fargo heist became something of a media lightning rod. She wondered how much she could deposit without attracting the attention of the FBI, so she decided to just ask the teller: How much can I deposit before you have to report it to the feds? she asked. Although the history of the predecessor Wells Fargo & Company dates back to 1852, Loomis Fargo & Company was established in 1997 by the consolidation of Wells Fargo Armored Service and Loomis Armored Inc.; the resulting corporation employed 8,500 people and provided armored transportation, cash handling services, and automatic teller machine maintenance. The FBI (Leslie Jones, Jon Daly) made easy work of the case, however, and everyone involved was eventually arrested and imprisoned. Nine other relatives and friends were also charged with money laundering, as they had co-signed for safe deposit boxes used to store some of the money; prosecutors opted to charge them on the grounds that they should have known the money was obtained illegally. But last Oct. 4, when he still hadn't gotten home by 2:30 a.m., she called his parents in. All rights reserved. Two days after the heist, the FBI found the missing van with $3.3 million of cash left in it. 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. Bubbling under the surface, however, was a deep frustration at the way he was treated. Where ever it was, it is long gone now. 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? [citation needed], It was later confirmed by the FBI that more than 88% of the stolen cash had been located or otherwise accounted for. Generally, the events of the film are fairly close to reality when they follow the broad details of the case. How Did A Model Employee Manage To Steal More Than $17 Million - Yahoo! The Thieves Who Couldn'T Cope With $17 Million Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. 2023 www.gastongazette.com. The Loomis Fargo robbery was one of the largest heists in history, with $2 million in stolen funds still unaccounted for. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points, How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer. Campbellwho was married herselfrepresented something new and exciting. Said Ghantt, one day life kinda slapped me in the face. Just days after agreeing to the plan, the group set a day to carry out the robbery. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? Lorsque vous utilisez nos sites et applications, nous utilisons des, authentifier les utilisateurs, appliquer des mesures de scurit, empcher les spams et les abus; et. 25th anniversary of the incredible Loomis Fargo bank heist | wcnc.com The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers home. Biography Comedy Crime A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history. On March 1, 1988, Mexican police arrested Ghantt at Playa del Carmen. Ghantt, now 29, was a tall, decorated Persian Gulf War veteran whom early newspaper reports likened to Huckleberry Finn. I felt cornered and one day the joking in the break room about robbing the place suddenly didnt seem so far-fetched.. Both were involved in the second-largest cash heist in U.S. history, in which a group of people stole $17 million from the. Though she agreed to cooperate with the government when she pleaded guilty to bank larceny and money laundering in August 1998, Michele Chambers didn't tell the FBI she still had the ring until December, when she turned it in. You have permission to edit this article. Most high schools offer a variety of history classes, so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. 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. (I) bought jewelry, bought a van, Campbell recalled of her own spending. 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. 5 min read. 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]. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. Question: Which do you regret more, stealing the money or getting caught? After finding himself in prison he made a concious choice to do things differently. October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery - Wikipedia David Ghantt discovers the true meaning of adventure far beyond his wildest dreams. Did you know that the SAT offers subject exams, too? By comparison, Ghantt served seven years in prison and was fined $26,000. Project #ShowUs. Ghantt's spending in Mexico was extravagant at first. The real story behind the second largest bank heist in history, which Guess what? Q: Do you appreciate your normal life now more than you would if you hadn't spent years in prison? WIFE, FAMILY OF HEIST SUSPECT CLING TO HOPE - Greensboro News and Record Until it's gone, you don't appreciate it. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Its gone! I really don't miss that guy. As Predators' David Poile braces for retirement, his wife reveals their love story. Even though they drove away with less than they had initially intended, they still had more than $17 million in hand. Im like, You need to understand that, that money has been missing for 20 years. ``None of these defendants , in this court's opinion, are capable of making substantial restitution, no matter what they do, or no matter what they try,' Mullen said. This article will teach you more about the SAT subject tests. March 2, 2023 - Alex Murdaugh found guilty in the murder of his wife Some of the friends and family members received parole, while Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to North Carolina. ``I wish she'd gotten less. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Degrowth or Debunk: Do Degrowth proponents have a strategy? Channel 9 speaks with the man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 Q: North Carolina native Zach Galifianakis portrayed you in "Masterminds." That 3-carat ring came back to haunt Michele Chambers at Tuesday's hearing. While listening in, they uncovered another more sinister alleged plan to kill Ghantt. Together with his wife, Chambers bought a new luxury home (upgrading from his mobile home), a BMW Z3, and some extravagant furnishings. 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. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM MASTERMIND MOVIE. After his release, Ghantt took a job as a construction worker and was eventually brought on as a consultant for the 2016 movie Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo Heist. An elderly American couple who went missing in Greece in late January this year were discovered dead in Taygetos mountain range. And with that, David Ghantt took off for Mexico. Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. 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. Si vous ne souhaitez pas que nos partenaires et nousmmes utilisions des cookies et vos donnes personnelles pour ces motifs supplmentaires, cliquez sur Refuser tout. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Whisler said he didn't think those factors should result in a reduced sentence. I was working all the time and unhappy I felt cornered and one day the joking in the break room about robbing the place suddenly didnt seem so far-fetched.. what is david ghantt doing now The FBI investigation was aided by the gang's extravagant spending. Having only brought $50,000 in cash, however, Ghantt soon found himself short on funds. People still laugh when they think of the "velvet Elvis" Chambershad in his Cramer Mountain mansion, or how his former wife showed upat a local bankto deposit wads of cash that she assured the teller was not "drug money.". Prosecutors also resisted Culler's efforts to downplay Michele Chambers' role in the theft. Masterminds - Zach Galifianakis 'David Ghantt' [On-Set Interview]SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://goo.gl/SrrTlTSUBSCRIBE MOVIE TRAILERS: http://goo.gl/8WxGeDA night gu. The judge said he would recommend that Michele Chambers be given mental health treatment in prison. FBI security footage of David Ghantt in the midst of the Loomis Fargo heist. He worked fueling airplanes, driving a forklift, and in 1994 he got a job as a vault superintendent at Loomis. The couple was married for 22 years before her untimely death in 2012. dvelopper et amliorer nos produits et services. David Ghantt attends the after party for the Premiere Of Relativity Media's "Masterminds" on September 26, 2016 in Hollywood, California. [15], "David Ghantt" redirects here. If I could get far enough away in a very short amount of time, my odds of getting away with it were pretty high, Ghantt said. Steven Chambers, left, and David Scott Ghantt leave federal court. They took a lot of liberty with the story here and there. Chambers, his wife, and several of their accomplices were arrested the next day. Wanneer u onze sites en apps gebruikt, gebruiken we, gebruikers authenticeren, veiligheidsmaatregelen toepassen en spam en misbruik voorkomen, en, gepersonaliseerde advertenties en content weergeven op basis van interesseprofielen, de effectiviteit meten van gepersonaliseerde advertenties en content, en, onze producten en services ontwikkelen en verbeteren. Its kind of out of sight, out of mind, she said of the reasoning. A movie based on the heist starring Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones and directed by Jared Hess (the guy who made Napoleon Dynamite) is out now on Blu-ray and DVD. 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. Loomis Fargo employee David Ghantt and his partners nearly pulled off the perfect crime, but it would be their lavish spending, and an alleged murder plot, that would be their undoing.