Student slideshow for Mr. Stennett's Human Development class, Spring 2015

1. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
Author: Frank Abagnale Jr.
By: Katie Ebel

2. ABSTRACT
Frank Abagnale Jr. is a former con artist who, in his early age cashed $2.5 million worth
of bad checks while impersonating a pilot for Pan Am airlines; he also impersonated
the professions of a teaching assistant, doctor and lawyer. Frank had a lust for women,
money, and attention; it was fuel for him to chase after those things. Frank can be
distinguished best by his extraordinary intelligence (IQ of 140), thus, allowing him to
have a photogenic memory where he could successfully employ his con artist
schemes. Frank Abagnale Jr. was constantly on the run from the FBI, but was
eventually caught and imprisoned. Although Frank committed a great amount of
fraud, his experience as a con artist led him to becoming CEO to his company,
Abagnale & Associates, and work as a consultant and lecturer for the FBI.

3. FRANK ABAGNALE JR.
• Born on April 27, 1948-Bronxville, New York- He was one of four siblings
• Parents divorced when Frank was about fourteen years old
• Moved in with his father, whom he had a close relationship with
• Through his father he learned about white collar businesses,
attended political events and visits to saloons, where higher class
businessmen gathered; he learned to speak, dress, and act like
an mature adult
• Left home and moved to New York City around the age of sixteen
• Became imposter with many different identities
• Frank currently lives in Charleston, SC, married and has three sons; the
eldest works for the FBI

4. ADOLESCENCE
• Frank was devastated after his parents divorced- He got mixed up with a group of
delinquent teens, started getting into some trouble and committing petty crimes
• His first act of con was on his own father- Frank charged around $3,400 to his father’s
charge card, then returned the items for cash back. His father found out about the
charges and had to pay the bill, hurting him even more financially, as his business
was already going under- Frank told him he was trying to impress a girl.
• His father became tired of Frank’s actions so he sent Frank off to a boarding school
• Frank later ran away to live on his own in New York City- only $200 in his checking
account

5. BECOMING A CON ARTIST
• With little education and being under age it was hard for Frank to find a job- He altered
his driver’s license to appear older and lied about his education
• Started writing bad checks and cashing them to make ends meet- Shortly after he quit
his fulltime job to pursue and become a professional con artist
• His first impersonation was a pilot with Pan Am Airlines. He was inspired after seeing a
flight crew exit a hotel and figured that pilots were highly respected professionals, one
he could impersonate and less likely to get caught
• Frank forged his pilot ID and FAA license- purchased a uniform and charged it to the
company; he researched and learned everything he could about flying, like in one case
he pretended to be a student doing a research paper so he could gather valuable
information

7. ON THE RUN
• Frank had to flee because the Pan Am police started catching on, so he decided to
pursue another profession
• He became a pediatrician at a hospital in Georgia. When a patient or nurse had
questions Frank typically didn’t know the answer- he would use humor as a defense
mechanism for the lack of his knowledge; He also pawned his duties off on the nurses
• Frank realized he was not fit to be a doctor after a child almost lost their life because
of him-he decided to skip town and seek another profession
• He forged Harvard University law transcripts, passed Louisiana's bar exam, and got a
job at the Louisiana state attorney general’s office. Frank’s coworker, a real Harvard
graduate, questioned Frank about his attendance at Harvard and started making
inquires into his background, and again Frank had to skip town

8. FRAUD
What is fraud?
• Fraud can be described as an intentional use of deceit, trickery, or dishonest means to
deprive another of money or property. In an act of fraud, intentional false representation
is acted upon in the harm to a victim for personal gain; or intentional deception to obtain
an illegal advantage
Why do people commit fraud?
• Situations that lead to fraud can deal with social status & more. To a fraudster, it is
important for them to deal with any financial problems in secrecy so that their
status/approval by society is not jeopardized- Proving, that social pressure plays a role in
an individual‘s motives to commit fraud
• Greed is another motive of fraudsters; Trustworthy people can become untrustworthy-
Fraud occurs when elements such as opportunity, pressure and rationalization have been
compressed together; Ethical and moral decisions then have to come into play

10. IDENTITY
The search for identity is a social as well as an individual problem
Social
• In Frank’s search for identity he began impersonating prestigious professions that
distinguished him as a credible and worthy businessman
Individual
• Frank’s search for his identity led him to becoming a con artist, stealing the identities of
others for his self-benefit
• Through greed he manipulated and deceived others in order to satisfy his wants

11. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
• Ego Development
• A sense of the object world only exist if it satisfies needs to a sense of the reality of
objects existing independently of human needs comes about from the result of
neutralization and aggression.
• “Learning to think and learning in general are independent biological functions which
exist beside, and in part independently of, drives and defenses” Hartmann (2013).
• Satisfaction in work is referred to as secondary narcissism
• Feelings of guilt are fundamental incentives towards creativeness and work
• Franks youth allowed him to be fearless and not accept the reality of his consequences,
rather, he would justify it. As he got older he became more aware of his actions and
consequences, and it began taking a toll on him emotionally.
• Many nights he would lie in bed and cry because he was lonely and missed his family

12. CAUGHT BY POLICE
• Frank Abagnale Jr. was caught and sentenced to jail by police in France; later
transferred to the other countries where he had also committed fraud to serve time.
Frank was later deported back to the US where he was sentenced to twelve years
• Frank escaped prison a number of times but was always caught and sent back to prison
• After Frank served five years he was released on terms that he work for the FBI helping to
catch fraudsters

14. CONCLUSION
Frank Abagnale Jr. was given a second chance after prison to change his life and use the
knowledge and skills he had learned to do something positive and benefitting for others,
instead of himself. Frank was hired by the FBI to work as a consultant, and later he
established his own company, Abagnale & Associates. Frank’s criminal career gave him
the chance to become what he had been chasing after, the difference was that he
became a successful businessman without committing fraud.

15. REFERENCES
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of psychology, pp. 83-91
Moskowitz, M. (2010). Reading minds: a guide to the cognitive neuroscience revolution.
London: Karnac Books
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Journal Of Family Violence, 27(8), 715-730. doi:10.1007/s10896-012-9468-
Abagnale, Jr. F., (1980). Catch me if you can. new york: grosset & dunlap. Book
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