Frank Abagnale

Frank William Abagnale Jr. (/ˈæbəɡneɪl/; born April 27, 1948) is an American author and convicted felon. Abagnale targeted individuals and small businesses yet gained notoriety in the late 1970s by claiming a diverse range of victimless workplace frauds, many of which have since been placed in doubt. In 1980, Abagnale co-wrote his autobiography, Catch Me If You Can, which built a narrative around these claimed victimless frauds. The book inspired the film of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg in 2002, in which Abagnale was portrayed by actor Leonardo DiCaprio. He has also written four other books. Abagnale runs Abagnale and Associates, a consulting firm. Abagnale claims to have worked as an assistant state attorney general in the U.S. state of Louisiana, a hospital physician in Georgia, and impersonated a Pan American World Airways pilot who logged over two million air miles by deadheading. The veracity of most of Abagnale's claims has been questioned and ongoing inquiry continues to confirm that they were made up. In 2002, Abagnale admitted on his website that some facts had been over-dramatized or exaggerated, though he was not specific about what was exaggerated or omitted about his life. In 2020, journalist Alan C. Logan provided evidence he claims proves the majority of Abagnale's story was invented or at best exaggerated. The public records obtained by Logan have since been independently verified by journalist Javier Leiva. Frank William Abagnale Jr. was born in the Bronx, New York City, on April 27, 1948, to an Algerian-American mother who died in November, 2014, and an Italian-American father who died in March, 1972. He spent his early life in Bronxville, New York. His parents separated when he was 12 and divorced when he was 15 years old. After the divorce, Abagnale moved with his father, and his new stepmother, to Mount Vernon, New York.