Frank Abagnale Jr., the subject of the 2002 movie “Catch Me If You Can,” has been known for his remarkable life story as a former con artist turned cybersecurity expert.
However, according to sources, his story is not entirely accurate.
Abagnale had disputed an article that featured a photo of Leonardo DiCaprio, who portrayed him in the movie, and claimed that his past “everyday someone writes an article about a bank robbery, forgery, con artist, or even cybercrime and they refer to me.”
He asserted that his crime was simply writing bad checks when he was 16 years old and that he had served five years in prison before being taken out to work for the FBI.
Abagnale had never been embarrassed by his past and had used his former criminal activities to his advantage during his speaking engagements around the country.
However, accusations had been made in the past that Abagnale had fabricated his life story.
Jim Keith, the former manager of security at a JC Penney store in St. Louis, had heard Abagnale speak about his turnaround after a life of crime, and he didn’t believe it.
He teamed up with William Toney, a former border patrol officer and professor of criminal justice at Stephen Austin University, to investigate. They found that some of Abagnale’s stories were true, such as his forging of checks, pretending to be pilots, and escaping jail.
However, they also found that some of his claims were inaccurate, misleading, exaggerated, or totally false.
According to Keith’s 87-page file, Abagnale had never posed as a professor at Brigham Young or a physician in Georgia.
He had never pretended to be a lawyer in the Baton Rouge attorney general’s office or a consultant to the US Senate Judiciary Committee.
He had never used the aliases Frank Williams, Frank Adams, Robert Conrad, or Robert Monjo, despite his claims.
Furthermore, he never stole money from a deposit drop at Boston’s Logan Airport while dressed as a security guard, as he had claimed in his memoirs and talks.
Despite the discrepancies in his story, Abagnale has been able to build a successful career advising businesses, banks, department stores, and the FBI on fraud prevention and cybercrime.
He founded Abagnale & Associates in 1976, and since then, he has been using his experience to help companies prevent fraud.
Mark Zinder, Abagnale’s former speaking agent, said, “He was a two-bit criminal. I’m embarrassed that I ever associated with the man.”
