Frank Abagnale, Jr.

Frank William Abagnale Jr. (; born April 27, 1948) is an American-French security consultant, author, and convicted felon whose documented crimes consist primarily of check fraud and petty theft targeting individuals and small businesses. Beginning in the late 1970s, Abagnale claimed a far more dramatic criminal past involving long-term impersonations of a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia hospital physician, and a Louisiana assistant attorney general, among other roles. These claims formed the basis of his 1980 autobiography, Catch Me If You Can, co-written with Stan Redding. The book inspired the film of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg in 2002, in which Abagnale was portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Journalistic investigations beginning in 1978 found no evidence to support most of Abagnale's biographical claims. In 2020, author Alan C. Logan published an investigation drawing on public records, prison documents, and newspaper archives that concluded the majority of Abagnale's claimed criminal history was fabricated. Abagnale runs Abagnale and Associates, a consulting firm he founded in 1976.

The 2002 Spielberg film brought Abagnale's story to a wide audience and cemented his public profile as a reformed con man turned fraud prevention expert. Abagnale made a cameo appearance in the film as a French police officer. A Broadway musical adaptation opened at the Neil Simon Theatre on April 10, 2011, ran for 170 performances, and received four Tony Award nominations, with Norbert Leo Butz winning Best Actor in a Musical.