Latest news with #FrankAbagnaleJr
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
How one man scammed his way onto 120 FREE flights over six years by posing as a flight attendant
A man who posed as cabin crew and managed to fly for free 120 times has been convicted after finally being caught. Echoing Frank Abagnale Jr's escapades in the 1960s - when the then teenager famously posed as a Pan Am pilot and jetted around the world - Tiron Alexander managed to evade capture for six years. On June 5th, a federal jury in Florida convicted the former airline employee of entering into a secure area of an airport by false pretenses and wire fraud. From 2018 to 2024, the Florida-based 35-year-old accessed flights on an airline carrier's website that were reserved for cabin crew and pilots. Posing as a flight attendant, Alexander managed to board 34 flights with the carrier without detection, after being able to enter in cabin crew badge number details into the airline's flight application website. A statement on the website of the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida detailed his deception. It read: 'Alexander claimed through the airline carrier's website application process - a process that required an applicant to select whether they were a pilot or flight attendant and provide their employer, date of hire, and badge number information - that he worked for seven different airlines and had approximately 30 different badge numbers and dates of hire.' Further evidence found that he had taken a similar approach with three other airlines, with prosecutors believing the amount of flights he boarded by pretending to be a working flight attendant was around 120. After an investigation by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Alexander was arrested and convicted last month. The fraudster is scheduled to be sentenced on August 25th. Alexander had, according to the evidence submitted in court, worked for Delta for two years from 2010 to 2012 as a global ticketing support representative. He was also familiar with the role of flight attendant, having spent a year working for Atlantic Southeast Airlines from 2013 to 2014, while another stint in the skies saw him employed as cabin crew for US regional airline Republic Airways. Trial evidence also showed Alexander had posed as a flight attendant on three other airlines, and he had ultimately booked more than 120 free flights by claiming he was a flight attendant, according to the announcement. According to information published by Fortune, it's thought the frauds mostly took place from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The publication reports that screenshots suggest he was flying on Spirit Airlines, a Florida-based flyer. Alexander's deception appears straight out of the Frank W. Abagnale Jr. handbook, which inspired the 1980 book, 2002 blockbuster movie - starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and 2011 Broadway musical. Abagnale was a clever teen who posed as a Pan Am pilot to travel the world in the 1960s; he raked in $2.5 million passing off bad cheques – all while evading the FBI and Interpol. Once one of the most formidable forgers, Mr Abagnale has since changed his ways and now advises governments and businesses on cybersecurity, identity theft, and scams. Described as the 'ultimate conman' for managing to evade the FBI for years, last year he warned that AI will create a 'tsunami' of scammers just like him. 'Anything today can be replicated, duplicated, counterfeited, deep-faked, or AI-manipulated,' he said, adding: 'Technology breeds crime. It always has and always will.'
Daily Record
13-07-2025
- Daily Record
Man who pretended to be Asda manager and walked out with £40k still at large
The man spoke to staff and customers before making off with the cash from the store. A brazen conman who pretended to be an Asda manager and walked out with a £40,000 loot remains at large. He has never been identified after carrying out the unlikely heist by walking behind the counter of the Bureau de Change at the Asda supermarket in Trafford Park, Manchester and posing as a senior member of staff. Dressed in a smart grey suit, he spoke to staff and served customers as they approached the desk, dealing with their requests and handing out cash and traveller's cheques. Then, after biding his time, he used a crucial piece of inside information to strike - and made off with tens of thousands of pounds, reports the Mirror. The theft happened almost a decade ago on July 29 2015, but remained under wraps until Manchester Evening News received a tip-off and broke the story on August 5 that year. Cops then released astonishing CCTV footage of the man convincingly playing the role of the manager. The incident has been compared to the Hollywood blockbuster 'Catch Me If You Can', where Leonardo DiCaprio plays real life con artist Frank Abagnale Jr - a man who made millions posing as a Pan Am pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer. Making off with a smaller but certainly not insignificant amount of money, the brazen nature of the Asda conman's scheme still shocks people to this day - with CCTV footage revealing how exactly he went about committing the crime. The man is shown in the clip calmly walking into the kiosk clutching a plastic bag and a tablet device, along with a set of white earphones. In one part of the minute-long footage, he is seen chatting to a customer who approaches for help, and in another he plays with a mobile phone he holds under the Bureau de Change kiosk. He is also captured fiddling around with drawers under the counter. Explaining how he managed to gain access to the kiosk, a source explained: 'As the woman in the Bureau de Change was leaving he slipped into the kiosk. He started to serve customers, just giving them wedges of cash, as he clearly had no idea about exchange rates. He apparently wore a glove, knew the code for the safe, punched it in, and was able to empty it. 'At one point a senior member of the Asda staff walked passed while he was in the kiosk and even spoke to him but he just kept up the pretence - as cool as you like. "Some of the customers got an early Christmas bonus too - getting much more than they should have done. Apparently the code to the bureau safe had not been changed for ages. He must have been in a few times and done his homework.' Greater Manchester Police (GMP) offered a £2,000 reward for information leading to convictions, but the man was never arrested The conman was described as Asian, aged in his mid 20s or early 30s and slim. In one section of the footage, he is seen wearing a single black glove. He sported a suspiciously full head of hair, later suspected to be a wig, along with what was likely a fake beard. GMP's Det Con Simon Johnson said the man had never worked in the store. Appealing for information at the time, he said: 'I would ask people to take time to look at the CCTV footage and bear in mind that the offender may be using some form of disguise to obscure his appearance. The company who owns the kiosk have put forward a reward of £2,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for this crime.' In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said: 'At 3.45pm on Wednesday, July 29th, (2015) police were called following reports a large amount of money had been stolen by a man from a currency kiosk based at Trafford Park." GMP told local media this week that the mystery man had never been arrested, and all intelligence on the case dried up in 2015.
Daily Mirror
13-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Man who pretended to be Asda manager and walked out with £40k still at large
The man, who was dressed in a smart black suit, walked into the Asda supermarket in Manchester and posed as the manager of the Bureau de Change in a well-planned heist A man who pretended to be an Asda manager and walked out with a £40,000 loot remains at large to this day. The conman, who has never been identified, carried out the unlikely heist by walking behind the counter of the Bureau de Change at the Asda supermarket in Trafford Park, Manchester and posing as a senior member of staff. Dressed in a smart grey suit, he spoke to staff and served customers as they approached the desk, dealing with their requests and handing out cash and traveller's cheques. Then, after biding his time, he used a crucial piece of inside information to strike - and made off with tens of thousands of pounds. The crime unfolded almost a decade ago on July 29 2015, but remained under wraps until Manchester Evening News received a tip-off and broke the story on August 5 that year. Police then released astonishing CCTV footage of the man convincingly playing the role of the manager. In the years since the scenes have been compared to the Hollywood blockbuster 'Catch Me If You Can', where Leonardo DiCaprio plays real life con artist Frank Abagnale Jr - a man who made millions posing as a Pan Am pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer. Making off with a smaller but certainly not insignificant amount of money, the brazen nature of the Asda conman's scheme still shocks to this day - with CCTV footage revealing how exactly he went about committing the crime. The man is shown in the footage calmly walking into the kiosk clutching a plastic bag and a tablet device, along with a set of white earphones. In one part of the minute-long clip, he is seen chatting to a customer who approaches for help, and in another he plays with a mobile phone he holds under the Bureau de Change kiosk. He is also shown fiddling around with drawers under the counter. Explaining how he managed to gain access to the kiosk, a source told the MEN: 'As the woman in the Bureau de Change was leaving he slipped into the kiosk. He started to serve customers, just giving them wedges of cash, as he clearly had no idea about exchange rates. He apparently wore a glove, knew the code for the safe, punched it in, and was able to empty it. 'At one point a senior member of the Asda staff walked passed while he was in the kiosk and even spoke to him but he just kept up the pretence - as cool as you like. "Some of the customers got an early Christmas bonus too - getting much more than they should have done. Apparently the code to the bureau safe had not been changed for ages. He must have been in a few times and done his homework.' Greater Manchester Police (GMP) offered a £2,000 reward for information leading to arrests and convictions, but no arrests were ever made. The conman was described as Asian, aged in his mid 20s or early 30s and slim. In one section of the footage, he is seen wearing a single black glove. He sported a suspiciously full head of hair, later suspected to be a wig, along with a likely fake beard. GMP's Det Con Simon Johnson said the man had never worked in the store. Appealing for information at the time, he said: 'I would ask people to take time to look at the CCTV footage and bear in mind that the offender may be using some form of disguise to obscure his appearance. The company who owns the kiosk have put forward a reward of £2,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for this crime.' In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said: 'At 3.45pm on Wednesday, July 29th, (2015) police were called following reports a large amount of money had been stolen by a man from a currency kiosk based at Trafford Park." GMP told local media this week that the mystery man had never been arrested, and all intelligence on the case dried up in 2015.
