Frank Abagnale Jr's net worth, age, wife, family, books, movies
Frank Abagnale Jr was one of the FBI's most wanted teen fraudsters in the '60s and '70s. He began conning people and passing bad checks at the age of 16 using fake identities and professionals like a pilot, doctor and lawyer. Discover more about the ex-scam artist here.
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Exactly how much did Frank Abagnale Jr steal? He admitted to having signed 17,000 bad checks, which amounted to $2.5 million, but experts estimate William stole $4 million. Book publishers have translated his autobiography into more than 30 languages. William has turned a new page and is now a security consultant.
Frank Abagnale Jr profile summary
- Full name: Frank William Abagnale Jr.
- Date of birth: 27th April 1948
- Zodiac sign: Taurus
- Place of birth: Bronxville, New York, USA
- Age: 73 years
- Career: Security consultant
- Company: Abagnale & Associates
- Nationality: American
- Ethnicity: Caucasian
- Parents: Paulette and Frank Abagnale Sr.
- Siblings: 3
- Marital status: Married
- Spouse: Kelly Anne Welbes Abagnale
- Children: 3
- Height: 1.78 m
- Weight: ±75 kg
- Net worth: approximately $12 million
Frank Abagnale Jr biography
The teenage William had a strained relationship with his father. He never saw his parents again after running away from home. Frank Abagnale Jr's father passed away when he was in jail.
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Frank Abagnale Jr's family
Paulette and Frank Abagnale Sr met in Algiers during World War II. Paulette was a teen when she married the love of her life. The man worked in Oran and relocated to New York with his family after the war.
How old is Frank Abagnale Jr? The couple established a business in Bronxville, New York, and had their third born in 1948. Therefore, Frank Abagnale Jr's age is 73 years in 2021.
William has two brothers and a sister, and they were close to their father. Unfortunately, his frequent trips related to Republican politics broke his home. Frank Abagnale Jr's mother divorced her husband, but William willingly stayed with his dad.
Frank Abagnale Jr's wife
His wife is named Kelly Anne Welbes Abagnale. They have three children and grandchildren. Frank Abagnale Jr's children are Sean, Scott, Chris. Their oldest son is a lawyer working for the FBI.
Where did Frank Abagnale Jr meet his wife? He met Kelly (a child psychology's master's degree holder) in Houston while working on an FBI undercover assignment. The duo got married in 1976.
William's life in crime
He learned the checking system when his father introduced him to his business at a young age. William committed minor crimes like petty crimes, shoplifting, and burglary.
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Unaware of his father's financial struggles, he used his gas credit card for a fishy deal that backfired. William's father sent him to a teens behaviour rehabilitation centre when he received a huge credit card bill.
The 16-year-old fled home with his bank savings and forged a driving license pretending he was 26 years old. He used fraudulent education credentials to get better-paying jobs.
Tough life made William quit working and venture into forging checks. He posed as a Pan Am Airlines pilot with a fake ID and FAA license for free flights.
He later assumed more professions like being a doctor while defrauding banks. His fake names were Frank Williams, Robert Conrad, Dr Frank Conners, Robert Black, Frank Adams, Robert Monjo, Frank Black, Frank Roberts and Frank Taylor.
How did Frank cheat on the Louisiana bar exam?
He posed as a Pan Am Officer while dating a stewardess. Her lawyer friend advised him to apply for the Louisiana bar exam, and he lied that he studied law at Harvard.
William forged a Harvard law degree transcript but failed the exam twice. The failures definitely did not hinder his inteliggence. What was Frank Abagnale Jr's IQ? He had an IQ of 140 with a photographic memory.
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The Louisiana Attorney General's office hired the 19-year-old after passing the third trial. William quit the job after eight months because a new Harvard Law graduate the office hired inquired about his Harvard past.
William escaped a plane deporting him to the US
Police in France detained him at the age of 21 and jailed him for six months in Perpignan. He was relocated to another jail in Sweden for six more months. While being deported to the USA, William escaped from the plane through the kitchen.
He was rearrested and given a 12-year-sentence in Petersburg, Virginia prison. While in jail, Abagnale was a crime specialist for banks. After serving only seven years, he got parole to help the FBI catch fraudsters.
Is Frank Abagnale Jr still alive?
Yes, indeed. The man was an FBI security consultant for 37 years before starting his company, Abagnale & Associates. Frank Abagnale Jr's net worth? As of 2021, he has built a $12 million empire from his current career.
Abagnale's friendship with the FBI agent assigned to arrest him
Joseph Shea's death saddened William. They were close friends for 30 years. Abagnale dedicated his book, Stealing Your Life, to him. The detective showed compassion when he realized William was a kid. Joseph played a crucial role in helping him get parole and a government job.
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While speaking to WIRED, he said the current advanced technology makes it easy for criminals to defraud people, unlike 50 years ago. He also released The Art of the Steal in 2001. Frank Abagnale Jr's books are about how to prevent crime.
Frank Abagnale Jr's movie
Renowned filmmaker Steven Spielberg made adjustments about Abagnale's life in the 2002 movie, Catch Me if You Can. Leonardo DiCaprio acts as William, and Christopher Walken is his father. Meanwhile, the character Brenda Strong represents the flight attendant William dated in Louisiana.
Did Brenda marry Frank?
Frank Abagnale Jr and Brenda Strong got engaged, and he believed she was a snitch. The police arrested William after she left France to meet his mother. Frank Abagnale Jr's cameo role in the film was the detective who arrested DiCaprio.
Frank Abagnale Jr is grateful to the government for giving law offenders second chances. He urges criminals to acknowledge their mistakes, rehabilitate themselves and transform. Life is all about love and light!
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Source: Briefly News
