April 27, 1948

AKA: Frank Williams

Swindler

At age sixteen, Frank Abagnale left home in search of recognition and excitement. After forging identity documents, he impersonated an airline pilot. For two years, and in cities all over the United States and Europe, he used the power of his pilot uniform to pass phony checks at airports and hotels. Abagnale’s autobiography, Catch Me If You Can, describes how he assumed several other scam occupations, playing the parts of professor, pediatrician, stockbroker, and lawyer. He was dubbed “the world’s greatest con man” by the Wall Street Journal. Through his various fake jobs, Abagnale collected $2.5 million in five years, before he was captured in France. He served time there and in Sweden before entering the U.S. correctional system. After serving five years of his American prison sentence, he was released on the...