Frank Abagnale Jr., whose life story provided inspiration for the 2002 feature film Catch Me If You Can, will speak publicly at Gustavus Adolphus College at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 3 in Christ Chapel.
Abagnale became notorious in the 1960s for cashing $2.5 million worth of forged checks in 26 different countries. Between the ages of 16 and 21, he successfully posed as an airline pilot, attorney, doctor, and college professor and escaped from police custody on two separate occasions. After being apprehended by French police at the age of 21, he served time in the French, Swedish and U.S. prison systems. After serving five years of his 12 year sentence, Abagnale was released in 1974 on the condition that he would work with the U.S. federal government to help catch scam artists like himself.
Abagnale has now been associated with the FBI for more than 35 years. He lectures extensively at the FBI Academy and for the field offices of the FBI. Abagnale also founded Abagnale & Associates, a financial fraud consultancy company. More than 14,000 financial institutions, corporations, and law enforcement agencies use his fraud prevention programs.
Abagnale is the author of four books including Catch Me If You Can, The Art of the Steal, Real U Guide to Identity Theft, and Stealing Your Life. In addition to the feature film that stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, Abagnale’s life story has recently been adapted into a new musical titled Catch Me If You Can. The musical premiered April 10 at the Neil Simon Theatre.
Complimentary tickets for this event are now available to Gustavus students and staff. Tickets for the general public will go on sale on gustavustickets.com on April 25 for $5.
For more information about this event, contact Gustavus student Erik Velgersdyk at evelgers@gustavus.edu.
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