Frank Abagnale Jr.

1. Frank Abagnale Jr. By: Matthew Karges

2. Background • Father who was a soldier was a soldier at the time married a French-woman during WWII • Parents divorced, lived with Father • Father brought him to business meetings, where he learned a lot • Left home when he was 16 to make it on his own

3. On his own • Had low paying part-time job, but was unsatisfied • Started writing bad checks to get what he needed • Knew cops would catch him • Decided to impersonate a pilot because people respected pilots, and would be less suspicious of his bad checks

4. Becoming a Pilot • Frank pretended to lose his “pilot uniform” and received another on a fictitious employee number • Obtained a sample of ID similar to Pan-Am and added logo from model airplane • Learned pilot info and lingo through an interview • Obtained FAA license by obtaining a plaque, downsizing it and using it to create a license • Frank “Williams” was now a certified pilot

5. Pilot • Dated stewardesses to know inner workings of Pan-Am • Opened countless bank accounts and changed the routing number on the check so it would take longer to realize its bad • He was unhappy with his fake lifestyle • He was apprehended by the authorities, yet was let go because he was confirmed by other pilots he had met • Decided to lay low

6. Doctor • Faked his way into getting a job as a intern supervisor for a hospital in Atlanta • Used jokes to get around his lack of medical knowledge • Let interns do most of work so he did not have to • Did not like being in charge of lives, so he decided to resign and move to Louisiana

7. Lawyer • Found a stewardess that he dated when he was a pilot • Convinced her he had a degree in law from Harvard • Was offered job at state district attorney • Made fake transcripts, and took the Louisiana bar exam only three times to pass (he simply eliminated what he got wrong on the previous test) • Became a licensed lawyer • Later he had to leave because of pressure from an actual Harvard graduate • Went back to the airlines for a short while until he stopped in Utah

8. Teacher • Because of natural beauty and lovely women, Frank decided to reside in Brigham and teach at the university • Set up interview with the dean and used fake credentials to be hired to teach summer classes of sociology • Was fired end of summer because there was no open position • Returned to writing bad checks to support himself in California

9. Paper hanging • Continued creating fake checks and obtained actual Pan-Am payroll checks from one of his girlfriends father who worked as a printer • He had a few close calls with the law but still kept at his criminal record

10. Caught • Settled down in France • One of his ex-girlfriend recognized him from a wanted poster and notified French police who notified the FBI • Was caught and spent 6 months in the French prison Perpignan • Escaped and was caught again in New York where he was tried for his crimes Perpignan Prison

11. Coming Clean • After he served his sentence it was difficult for him to get a good job because he was an ex-convict • Started giving lectures and seminars to police and bank companies in order to prevent counterfeiting and con artists • Used his knowledge to be a consultant and an author about his experiences and about checkfraud