Frank Abagnale's Motivation for Crime in Catch Me If You Can

Criminals are captured and put in jail everyday. However, most do not end up working with the FBI. Frank Abagnale was one of the lucky criminals when it came to receiving punishment. Frank Abagnale was, and still is, incredibly smart. He would steal and create identities to gather large amounts of money before moving on to the next victim. Frank Abagnale is an influential American. To fulfil his fantasy life and get more money, Abagnale stole random people’s identity and money, creating a legacy that will forever help law enforcement limit future money scandals.

In hopes of creating a perfect life and having lots of money, Frank Abagnale had all the motivation he needed to start stealing identities. Living in what could be described as a broken family, would be hard for anyone, especially a young boy. After the separation of his parents, “...Frank Jr. decided to live with his father…and he often tagged along on business dealings. It was during this time that Frank Jr. learned about white-collar transactions” (“Frank Abagnale Biography 1”). Abagnale was close to both of his parents, but when they decided to get a divorce, he chose to stay with his father and younger siblings. His father, Frank Abagnale Sr., was always traveling, becoming involved in Republican local politics, and would sometimes allow him to join him. There, he would meet different businessmen and learn about how they took care of their money transactions. Abagnale would pose as different people and, “When he had saved enough money, Frank decided to make his dream of traveling around the world a reality” (“Frank Abagnale Biography 2”). Abagnale wrote checks on overdrawn accounts, and opened numerous accounts at different banks. He did these odd jobs until he had saved enough money to live his fantasy life, traveling all around the world. Frank Abagnale was driven by money and the hope of a perfect life to start stealing identities and money.

Frank Abagnale took many actions during his life as a criminal. One of them was creating and taking the identities of random people. Once he had their identities, he had access to all of their money. Abagnale had a variety of ways to get what he wanted. “He used tricks such as dressing up as a security guard and stealing the money from airlines and car rental companies” (Frank Abagnale Biography 2). He had put a sign on the drop box for payments, telling people to give their money to the guard on shift. Once he had their money, he was gone. Abagnale would continue to use these schemes until someone had caught him. “Once Pan Am and the police began catching on to Abagnale’s lies, he decided to change identities again, this time becoming an out-of-town doctor in Georgia” (Frank Abagnale Biography 1). Frank Abagnale had no problem going from one identity to the next. He spent as much time as possible with one identity, or just until he got bored, before switching to someone new. Frank Abagnale’s biggest act as a criminal was stealing and creating numerous identities.

Even though he was a criminal, Frank Abagnale became an important and influential American. He knew he could not outrun the law for the rest of his life and eventually got caught in Montpelier, France where a former friend recognized his face and turned him in. Abagnale spent 7 years in three different prisons. He served time in France, Sweden, and Petersburg, Virginia before finally being granted parole. Although free, it would not be easy for Frank to live as a free man. “In exchange for his freedom, the government told Abagnale that he had to educate them about his methods in order to prevent others from defrauding authorities” (Frank Abagnale Biography 1). He spent more than 30 years with the FBI. Frank Abagnale also became known as one of the world’s best experts on money fraud. Frank grew to love his new life and working with the FBI. With the new and improved outlook on life, “He eventually found lecturing work as a white-collar crime specialist, providing information to bank employees about ways to avoid fraud and theft” (Frank Abagnale Biography 1). Abangale used the dark times in his life to create something positive. He took his knowledge and actions and taught people how to prevent future money scandals. Frank Abagnale never thought he could reach his dream life of traveling around the world and having lots of money without needing to steal it. Frank Abagnale is, and will forever be, an influential American. Abagnale stole the identities and money from random people in order to achieve a life filled with perfection. This action allowed him to work with the FBI to prevent future money scandals. Imagine going from a life of crime to actually working with the people who were trying to track you down. Would you be able to stay calm? Frank Abagnale was able to turn his life around, could you?