-
Born
Frank Abagnale Junior was born in Bronxville, New York -
Parents Separated
His parents separated when he was only 12 -
Official Divorce
His parents officially divorced when he was 14 -
First con
At the age of 15, he used a gasoline credit card to "buy" tires, batteries, and other car related items then asked cashiers to give him the cash in return. His father was liable for the bill worth $3,400 -
Left Home
Frank left home at the age of 16 because of the tensions with his parents -
Period: to
Crimes Continued
5.) Police began to catch on to his lies, so he decided to become an out of town doctor in Georgia
6.) Over the next 2 years Abagnale was said to bounce job to job
7.) Abagnale's past caught up when he settled down in Montpelier, France when his ex girlfriend recognized his face on a wanted poster and turned him into authorities -
Period: to
Crimes
1.) Frank altered his driver's license to make himself 10 years older and exaggerated his education
2.) He decided to quit working and wrote bad checks, he had wrote hundreds and overdrew his account by thousand then went into hiding
3.) started his impersonation; realized he could cash more bad checks pretending to be other people
4.) Impersonated a pilot and hitched rides on planes all across the world using a forged pilot ID and FAA license -
Period: to
Caught and Imprisoned
Abagnale served time in France, Sweden and the United states for less than 5 years -
Prison Escape
While being transferred into prison by a United States Marshal, the Marshal forgot to give the prison Abagnale’s detention commitment -
Found Legit Work
Eventually found work as a white collar specialist, providing info to banks about how to avoid fraud and theft -
Helping FBI
In exchange for his freedom, government told Abagnale he had to educate them on his methods to prevent others from defrauding authorities -
Period: to
Working For The FBI
Frank has been working for the FBI for more than 30 years as one of the world's foremost experts on document fraud, check swindling, forgery, and embezzlement -
Starting Consultant Work
Abagnale started his own company, "Abagnale & Associates" to educate others on how to avoid becoming fraud victims -
Book Writing
wrote the book "The Art of the Steal" -
Catch Me If You Can
Frank played a French Policeman in a movie made about him directed by Steven Spielberg -
More Book Writing
Wrote another book called "Stealing your life" -
Broadway Musical
The movie "Catch Me If You Can" later became a Broadway musical at the Neil Simon Theatre
