Frank Abagnale

Frank William Abagnale, Jr

Frank William Abagnale, Jr

 Frank William Abagnale, Jr is an American security consultant known for his history as
a former confidence trickster, check forger, and impostor between the ages of 15 and
21
 He became one of the most famous impostors ever, claiming to have assumed no
fewer than eight identities, including an airline pilot, a physician, a U.S. Bureau of
Prisons agent, and a lawyer
 He served less than five years in prison before starting to work for the federal
government. He is currently a consultant and lecturer for the FBI academy and field
offices
 He also runs Abagnale & Associates, a financial fraud consultancy company
Early Life

 Frank William Abagnale, Jr. was born on April 27, 1948 as son of Frank Abagnale, Sr
and Paulette
 Frank was always inspired by his father who was an affluent local who was very keen
on politics and theater
 But after his Dad was accused by the I.R.S. for tax fraud, everything fell apart
 His parents got seperated at his age of twelve, divorced when he was 14
 Instead of choosing one of his parents to live with, Frank decided to run away from
home and escape from them both
Profession

 He was a pediatrician, a prosecutor, and a Pan American World Airways pilot

 The truth is that he didn’t graduate from high school and is still a teenager but is
racking up a fortune.
 He also claims to be a teaching assistant at Brigham Young University for a semester,
under the name Frank Adams
 While posing as Pan Am First Officer "Robert Black", Abagnale forged a Harvard
University law transcript, passed the Louisiana bar exam, and got a job at the Louisiana
State Attorney General's office at the age of nineteen
 As a teenager, Frank Jr. got caught up in petty crimes, including shoplifting. He soon
grew tired of these practices, though, and decided to move into more sophisticated
forms of burglary
Con Jobs

 Frank did different jobs earlier, Frank altered his driver’s license to make himself 10
years older than he was and exaggerated his education. This helped him get better-
paying jobs, but he still barely made ends meet
 So decided to quit working and write bad checks to support himself
 Frank realized that he could cash more bad checks if he dazzled bank tellers with a
new, more impressive personality
 At that time pilots were highly respected professionals, so decided to become one
 From 1964 -1967 Frank Successfully impersonated an airline pilot for Pan Am Airways
and Flew over a two million miles for free
Con Jobs

 During that time he was also a Chief Resident Pediatrician at a Georgia Hospital
 And Assistant attorney general for State of Louisiana
 By the time Frank was caught, he was the youngest and most daring con man in US
history
 Frank has cashed almost $4Million in fraudulent checks in 26 foreign countries and 50
States
 And he did it all before his 19th Birthday
Con Jobs

 Over the next two years, Abagnale was said to have bounced from job to job. But
eventually, Abagnale's past caught up with him when he settled down in Montpelier,
France.
 He had decided to live a straight life for awhile after having reputedly cashed $2.5
million in bad checks over the years. When a former girlfriend recognized his face on a
wanted poster, she turned him in to authorities.
Jail Time and Consultancy

 Abagnale was eventually arrested in Montpellier, France(reputedly in the harsh

confines of Perpignan, where he became seriously ill), Sweden and the United States
for his crimes, during which time his father died
 Frank was eventually granted parole after several years from a Petersburg, Virginia
prison
 He eventually found lecturing work as a white-collar crime specialist, providing
information to bank employees about ways to avoid fraud and theft
 In exchange for his freedom, the government told Abagnale that he had to educate
them about his methods in order to prevent others from defrauding authorities. Frank
worked with the FBI for more than 30 years as one of the world’s foremost experts on
document fraud, check swindling, forgery and embezzlement. And later he started
Abagnale & Associates
Movie Depiction

 In 2002, Steven Spielberg made a film about Abagnale's life, Catch Me If You
Can. Leonardo DiCaprio starred as the famous impostor, with Christopher
Walken portraying Frank Abagnale Sr. and receiving an Oscar nod for the role. The
movie later inspired a Broadway musical version which ran for several months in 2011
at the Neil Simon Theatre.
Qualities

 Charming
 Brilliant
 Creative
 Spontaneous
 Extremely confident
 Great talent for management
Thank You