Leonardo DiCaprio has delivered plenty of standout performances over the years. However, Catch Me If You Can is still one of the most memorable. A fast-paced film, based on a true story, it showcases DiCaprio’s range and also pairs him with director Steven Spielberg.

With a strong cast and a story that sounds almost too wild to be true, the film still holds up more than two decades later. DiCaprio plays Frank Abagnale Jr., a teenager whose elaborate scams put him on the FBI’s radar and turned him into one of the most notorious con artists in U.S. history. Let’s take a closer look at the true story behind the movie.

Quick answer: Catch Me If You Can is based on Frank Abagnale Jr.’s own memoir. However, many of his most famous claims have since been disputed. He really was convicted of fraud. However, the pilot, doctor, lawyer, FBI, and multimillion-dollar check claims appear to be much less clear than the movie suggests.

Frank Abagnale’s story became famous because of his memoir and Spielberg’s film. However, later research has challenged many of the details. The movie is still a terrific con-man story. The question is how much of the con was Frank’s crime spree, and how much was the story he sold afterward.

Who Was Frank Abagnale Jr.?

Frank Abagnale was born in Bronxville, New York, in 1948; by all accounts, his childhood was pretty unexceptional. Things took a turn, however, when his parents divorced before he was a teen. This was a potential catalyst for what was to come.

While other teenagers might have turned to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain, Frank was on a different path. This path that would make him one of the most wanted fraudsters in the United States.

What Frank Abagnale Definitely Did

Frank first dipped his toe in the fraud water when he started writing bad checks. He discovered this was all too easy and forged bad checks worth millions, resulting in a manhunt that spanned multiple states.

You’d think at this point that he’d tuck in his tail and call it a day, but his notoriety encouraged him even more for some reason. Moving on from bad checks, he decided to pose as a Pan Am pilot. He managed to do this without ever having flown a plane or practiced in a flight simulator. This fake identity opened the door to travel the world, with the unsuspecting airline paying for his lifestyle.

Bored of the travel life, Frank decided to switch things up and pose as a pediatrician in Georgia under the alias Dr. Frank Williams. He even weaseled into Brigham Young University, where he posed as a sociology professor. In Louisiana, he infiltrated the attorney general’s office once he had passed the bar – potentially the first honest thing he’d done. Using public records, he borrowed other people’s credentials and took advantage of people’s trust and their lack of fact-checking.

Was Carl Hanratty A Real FBI Agent?

Yes, he was. FBI Agent Carl Hanratty started investigating Frank in the mid-1960s, and Frank’s world of lies and deceit soon became Carl’s obsession. He relentlessly pursued Frank, making him a key part of Abagnale’s story.

However, Frank was clever. He wasn’t just a sitting duck waiting for the authorities to catch up with him. He used several methods to avoid detection, from changing his work schedule to implementing psychological tactics he’d learned along the way. At one point, he even pretended to be an FBI agent, which convinced police outside his home that he was undercover. Buying him time, he was able to evade arrest and jail time once again.

However, as fun as this was for Frank and frustrating as it was for the FBI, it did all come to a head. Frank was ultimately arrested in France at the astonishingly young age of 21. The French police worked with the United States, arresting him after they recognized him on a wanted poster. He was extradited to the U.S. and sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.

Frank’s illustrious career of deceit earned him $2.5 million in fraudulent checks. When the FBI finally apprehended him, he wrote over 17,000 bad checks in 26 countries.

While you might think this is the end of the story, it’s not. Surprisingly, in the late 1960s, the FBI approached Frank in prison, offering him a furlough in exchange for his release. Once out, he would help the FBI by teaching them the tricks of the trade, ultimately helping them catch others in the fraud world.

Media Presence and Public Perception

As you can imagine, this sensational story of a young con artist who duped everyone from banks to airlines, became the perfect media fodder for journalists and the public. Abagnale’s story was picked up everywhere, quickly making him a household name. He even was invited to appear on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

As with all interesting individuals who have more life stories than they know what to do with, Frank wrote a memoir called Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake, which he co-authored with Stan Redding. Spielberg picked this up, and the result was a movie starring Leo.

Why The Movie Still Works Even If The Story Is Shaky

The funny thing about Catch Me If You Can is that the uncertainty almost makes it better. Spielberg’s movie is about charm, performance, broken families, and the stories people tell to survive.

If Frank Abagnale exaggerated parts of his legend, that only adds another layer to the con. The movie may not be a perfect record of what happened, but it remains a fascinating portrait of how easily a good story can become accepted as truth.

A Cautionary Tale

From trying to pass off as a Pan Am airline pilot to faking his way into being a lawyer, a flight attendant, a doctor, and even a university professor, it’s safe to say that Frank’s led a pretty fascinating life.

Ultimately, Frank Abagnale’s story could be the greatest hoax ever pulled off by a teenager while at the same time being a cautionary tale for anybody who’s thinking of veering off the narrow path in favor in pursuit of a more “exciting” life.