Frank Abagnale

imposter

Frank William Abagnale, Jr. is an American security consultant known for his history as a former confidence trickster, check forger, and impostor between the ages of 15 and 21. He became one of the most famous impostors ever,claiming to have assumed no fewer than eight identities, including an airline pilot, a physician, a U.S. Bureau of Prisons agent, and a lawyer. He escaped from police custody twice (once from a taxiing airliner and once from a U.S. federal penitentiary), before he was 21 years old.He served less than five years in prison before starting to work for the federal government. He is currently a consultant and lecturer for the FBI academy and field offices. He also runs Abagnale & Associates, a financial fraud consultancy company.

Abagnale's life story provided the inspiration for the feature film Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo Dicaprio as Abagnale, a Broadway musical of the same name which opened in April 2011, and a ghostwritten autobiography also of the same name.