What Happened To Catch Me If You Can’s Frank Abagnale Jr. In Real Life?

If you’ve read «Catch Me If You Can» or seen either the film or stage adaptation, you’re familiar with the core beats that make up the myth of Frank Abagnale. As the story goes, he began a life of white-collar crime while still a teenager, stealing cars and forging checks through his late teens. His more outlandish claims include working as an assistant state attorney general in Louisiana, a pilot, and a pediatric doctor in Georgia for years at a time, all without proper credentials. He also states that his forged checks totaled up to $2.5 million. These various accounts, as well as a series of daring escapes from the authorities, make up the exciting subject matter of «Catch Me If You Can.»

And yet, as time has gone on, it seems that fewer of Abagnale’s stories have real grounding. His claims of passing the bar and working in the Louisiana attorney general’s office have been widely discredited, as has his claim of working as a pediatrician. There is no record of Abagnale serving time in the United States Penitentiary, Atlanta, from which he claims to have escaped. Additionally, the value of confirmed fake checks he passed totals far less than the $2.5 million he’s always claimed.

These are far from the only holes that have been poked in the story over the years. Yet, it’s hard to question Abagnale’s legitimacy as a con man.