Frank Abagnale
Frank William Abagnale Jr. is an American-French security consultant, author, and convicted felon whose documented crimes consist primarily of check fraud and petty theft targeting individuals and small businesses. Beginning in the late 1970s, Abagnale claimed a far more dramatic criminal past involving long-term impersonations of a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia hospital physician, and a Louisiana assistant attorney general, among other roles. These claims formed the basis of his 1980 autobiography, Catch Me If You Can, co-written with Stan Redding. The book inspired the film of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg in 2002, in which Abagnale was portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1948-04-27
- Works
- 6
Top works
- Scam Me If You Can
- Success - By Those Who Have Made It
- Catch Me If You Can
via Open Library + Wikidata
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Key facts
- Born
- Frank William Abagnale Jr. , ( 1948-04-27 ) April 27, 1948 (age 78) , New York City , U.S.
- Citizenship
- United States, France
- Occupation
- Secure document consultant
- Criminal charges
- Auto larceny theft forgery fraud
- Criminal penalty
- 4 months in a French prison 2 months in a Swedish prison 3 years, 3 months, and 7 days in a US federal prison 3 years in Great Meadow Correctional Facility , US (age 17–20)
Article
Frank William Abagnale Jr. (/ˈæbəɡneɪl/; born April 27, 1948) is an American-French security consultant, author, and convicted felon whose documented crimes consist primarily of check fraud and petty theft targeting individuals and small businesses. Beginning in the late 1970s, Abagnale claimed a far more dramatic criminal past involving long-term impersonations of a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia hospital physician, and a Louisiana assistant attorney general, among other roles. These claims formed the basis of his 1980 autobiography, Catch Me If You Can, co-written with Stan Redding. The book inspired the film of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg in 2002, in which Abagnale was portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio.
Journalistic investigations beginning in 1978 found no evidence to support most of Abagnale's biographical claims. In 2020, author Alan C. Logan published an investigation drawing on public records, prison documents, and newspaper archives that concluded the majority of Abagnale's claimed criminal history was fabricated. Abagnale runs Abagnale and Associates, a consulting firm he founded in 1976.
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1948 births20th-century American businesspeople20th-century American criminalsAmerican businesspeople convicted of crimesAmerican confidence trickstersAmerican male criminalsAmerican people convicted of fraudAmerican people imprisoned abroadAmerican people of Algerian descentAmerican people of French descentAmerican people of Italian descent