Frank W. Abagnale

Frank William Abagnale, Jr. (b.1948) is an American security consultant and former con man, forger and impostor. He became infamous in the 1960s for passing bad checks worth about $2.5 million in 26 countries over the course of five years.

Abagnale's life story provided the inspiration for the feature film Catch Me if You Can, based on his ghostwritten autobiography of the same name. Before being sentenced to 12 years in the Federal Corrections Institution at Petersburg, Virginia in 1971, Abagnale is said to have escaped from both a British VC-10 airliner, and the Federal Detention Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

In the early 1990s, Abagnale was featured as a recurring guest on the UK Channel 4 television series Secret Cabaret. The show was based around magic and illusions with a sinister presentation style. Abagnale was featured as an expert exposing various confidence tricks.

In his book The Art of the Steal, he reveals tricks of the scam trade with stories of notorious swindles, such as the mustard squirter trick and the "rock in the box" ploy.

Books

The Art of the Steal (2001)

References

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