Frank Abagnale

So today I was watching Catch Me If You Can for like the 5th time. I always liked the movie and thought it was great and stuff. So at the end of the movie they have the epilogue and it's like "Frank's been married for 22 years, earns millions a year, etc, etc..."
So I thought to myself (and aloud to my brother), how much of it is actually true? So I looked up Frank Abagnale and oh my gosh was I surprised!

So he really did impersonate a pilot...

"Pan American Airlines estimated that between the ages of 16 and 18, Frank Abagnale flew over 1,000,000 miles on over 250 flights and flew to 26 countries, at Pan Am's expense, by deadheading. He was also able to stay at hotels for free during this time. Everything from food to lodging was billed to the airline. Abagnale stated that although he was often invited by actual pilots to take the controls in-flight, he never actually accepted their offers, instead using the "8 hours between the bottle and the throttle" rule as a convenient alibi." [source]

He really did pretend to be a chief paediatrician for almost a year! He basically worked as a night shift supervisor, where they had an empty spot until they found a replacement a year later. Being a supervisor he hardly ever had problems and just let interns handle stuff. Yes. For a year, he pretend to be a doctor and only once was he almost caught. Makes you wonder what the hell the supervisors are getting payed for...

And lastly, he really did work as an attorney for 8 months before retiring because one of the other "Harvard graduates" kept asking questions about him.

This all happened before he was 21, freaking insane! and just like the movie, there is a happy ending too.

"He later founded Abagnale & Associates, which advises the business world on fraud. Through this system, he raised enough money to pay back all those he scammed over his criminal career. Abagnale is now a millionaire through his legal fraud detection and avoidance consulting business based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Abagnale also continues to advise the FBI, with whom he has associated for over 35 years, by teaching at the FBI Academy and lecturing for FBI field offices throughout the country. He also has a son who now works for the FBI. According to his website, more than 14,000 institutions have adopted Abagnale's fraud prevention programs."

On the other hand, there isn't much concrete evidence for most of this stuff so it is a bit suspect.

\\source www.grahampaterson.org \\