INVESTIGATIVE CASE DOSSIER: THE 1997 LOOMIS FARGO HEIST: THE INSIDE STORY OF AMERICA’S $17.3M CHARLOTTE CASH ROBBERY
- Incident: The 1997 Loomis Fargo Cash Robbery
- Date of Crime: October 4, 1997 (Night)
- Location: Loomis Fargo Armored Car Depot, Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
- Stolen Cash: $17.3 Million in physical U.S. currency (weighing 2,800 pounds)
- Key Conspirators: David Scott Ghantt (Vault supervisor), Kelly Campbell, Steve Chambers
- Lead Agency: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI Charlotte Field Office)
- Outcome: All 24 conspirators convicted; over 95% of stolen funds successfully recovered
On the night of October 4, 1997, 28-year-old armored car vault supervisor David Scott Ghantt loaded 2,800 pounds of cash—totaling $17.3 million—into a delivery van at the Loomis, Fargo & Co. regional depot in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ghantt handed the money over to co-conspirators and fled to a luxury resort in Cozumel, Mexico, with $50,000 in his boots. But when his accomplices began ostentatiously spending millions on mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, and custom sports cars, the FBI launched a swift sting that recovered over 95% of the money and convicted twenty-four individuals in the 1997 Loomis Fargo heist.
The Inside Job in Charlotte: October 1997
Vault supervisor David Ghantt was persuaded by former coworker Kelly Campbell and petty criminal Steve Chambers to rob the depot. Using his security access codes, Ghantt loaded $17.3 million in cash into a company van using a forklift, removed surveillance tapes, and met Chambers’ crew in an empty parking lot before fleeing to Mexico.
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