Like you, I was shocked to discover that Frank Abagnale’s life story is greatly exaggerated, if not a flat-out lie. 

Don’t get me wrong. Frank Abagnale is a con man—just not the con man you think he is.

He’s not a brilliant mastermind. In reality, he’s more of a petty thief. 

This is a multi-part series. To listen to part 1, click here. 

Frank Abagnale is accused of stalking.

Once the mirage fades and you learn about his actual crimes, you’re left with an unsettling feeling. A feeling that this guy’s true life is just plain creepy.

Remember Paula Parks, the former Delta flight attendant from episode two? Paula says Frank Abagnale followed her from airport to airport. “I was flying to Washington DC, and there he was. So I said, how did you know where I was gonna be?”

Paula Parks says that in addition to stalking her, Frank Abagnale also managed to move in with her parents. “My mother called me and said he knocked on the door one day and moved in with them.” 

A witness claimed Abagnale conducted physicals on college co-eds under false pretenses. 

Not only is Abagnale accused of stalking women, but it’s also reported that he inappropriately touched them while posing as a pilot recruiter at the University of Arizona. 

I spoke with Captain Paul J. Holsen II, a retired pilot and ex-CIA operative. Before Holsen worked for the CIA, he was a student at the University of Arizona— the same university Abagnale used to recruit flight attendants. Holsen wanted to line up a commercial airline pilot gig after graduation. And when he found out a Pan Am pilot was on campus recruiting students, he jumped at the chance. 

The Pan Am pilot of course was Frank Abagnale. He had told the university that he was only recruiting stewardesses. Nevertheless, Holsen thought meeting with Abagnale would still be a good opportunity. 

This is a passage from Holsen’s autobiography Born in a Bottle of Beer: 

“The day of the interview, I walked over to the hall to see a room full of beautiful girls waiting. I walked into a room to find a Pan Am pilot conducting the interviews.” Holsen approached Abagnale and said,” ‘I didn’t know pilots did this.” Abagnale replies, “Not only am I a pilot but a doctor too. I do everything, interviews, and physicals.” 

Physicals? Why would a pilot conduct physicals on a flight attendant recruits? And what kind of physicals? Was Abagnale inappropriately touching these young women? 

The next day, Holsen receives a call from the FBI. When the agents arrived, they showed him a picture of the pilot. “Ever seen this fellow?” That’s when Paul Holsen learned that the pilot was a fake. The agents informed him that Abagnals stole the uniforms, the credit cards, and worst yet, he wasn’t even a doctor.” Holsen thought, “but he did all those physicals to the girls!”

I asked Holsen about this encounter. Especially about the physicals. What exactly went on in that room?

Holsen told me that Frank Abagnale was doing “exams,” implying it was code for taking advantage of the young co-eds. But he stopped short of going into specifics. I prodded him throughout our call, and he finally said, “there are things I will take to the grave.”

These physicals were so bad that he had to take them to his grave? I can only imagine.

“When the girls came by, I always gave them a thorough examination, sent him on their way. I was young but not stupid.”

This is a quote of Frank Abagnale from a 1994 promotional CD where he describes conducting similar physicals while posing as a pediatrician. 

There are reports that Abagnale tried recruiting co-eds at other universities. The Arizona Daily Star printed this headline, “Fake recruiter charged by FBI.” The newspaper article says that Abagnale prowled Arizona State University in Tempe, trying to recruit young women.

Frank

Frank Abagnale and his facination with children

There’s a disturbing pattern throughout Frank Abagnale’s life. Each time he’s released from prison, he somehow gravitates toward children and young adults. In 1969, while living in Baton Rogue, Lousiana, Abagnale sought a volunteer position working alongside children with mental disabilities. Then in 1974, while on parole in Texas, he worked as a bus driver at a youth summer camp called Camp Manison. 

After he was busted for allegedly stealing from the camp, Abagnale forged a master’s degree in social work and got a job at an orphanage. You can’t make this up. A freaking orphanage! And how do I know this? Because his parole officer, Jim Blackmon, told me. When Blackmon found out that Abagnale was placing children in homes, he demanded that Abagnale resign. However, Blackmon fell short of reporting him to the authorities. 

You have to ask yourself, why was a felon seeking the company of young children? To listen to the whole story, listen to part 4 of The Real Catch Me If You Can series. 

Listen to part 4 of The Real Catch Me If You Can on Apple Podcast or Spotify.