Between the ages of 16 and 21, Frank Abagnale posed as an airline pilot, an attorney, a college professor and a pediatrician and cashed more than $2 million in fraudulent checks in every U.S. state and 26 foreign countries.
At 21, the French police took him into custody, and he served time in French, Swedish and U.S. prison systems. He was released from federal prison five years later under the condition he would assist the U.S. federal government by teaching and assisting law enforcement agencies in fraud prevention.
Tonight, Penn State students can hear him discuss those experiences and more as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series (DSS).
Abagnale will speak at 8 tonight in the Schwab Auditorium. He is most famous for his autobiography Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake which was made into a major movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Abagnale. He is the second of four speakers in this school year's series.
Paul Russ, Student Programming Association (SPA) chairman of the DSS, said Abagnale was chosen because of his appeal to a wide range of students.
"We try to come up with a list of speakers that we think will attract a diverse group of students," Russ (junior-finance) said. "And a few of our committee members have heard him speak and said he was phenomenal."
Choosing a lecturer depends on an array of factors including his or her appearance at other colleges, price of booking and availability, Russ said.
Abagnale now lectures and instructs at The FBI Academy. He also conducts more than 100 seminars each year, both domestically and abroad, which focus on how to reduce seminar attendees' exposure to fraud, forgery and embezzlement, according to his Web site.
Some Penn State students are intrigued by what they might learn tonight.
"I am really looking forward to hearing what he has to say, and I know he has led a very exciting life," Leslie Cooke (junior-business administration) said. "Although I am not looking to go into money laundering or embezzlement, I can't wait to hear what he has to say on the subject, especially about how I might avoid becoming a victim."
Next semester, the series will host former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and author Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier in Sierra Leone.
