The “Catch Me If You Can” wannabe busted in New York had $24,000 cash, a closet full of purple hearts and military uniforms and stacks of forged IDs to further his next scheme, prosecutors said Wednesday.
A judge set bail at $1 million for Jeremy Wilson, 42 — who wore a gray Harvard Law School sweatshirt to his first appearance in a Manhattan courtroom — following a months-long probe of his alleged cons in Boston and New York.
- A raid of his swanky $5,000-a month apartment at 10 Hanover Square turned up a treasure trove of phony IDs and con man tools, court documents revealed on Wednesday, including:
- Military medals, including Purple Hearts and Silver Stars. Feds couldn’t immediately say if the medals once belonged to honored serviceman.
- A forged California driver’s license for “Jeremiah Asimov-Beckingham,” and Actor’s Union debit card for “Jeremiah I. Beckingham.”
- More than 200 forged checks, a forged New York State Insurance Identification form, and two forged passports under the name “Jeremiah Asimov-Beckingham.”
- Massachusetts licenses plates honoring vets, Harvard and MIT souvenirs and laptop computers.
- A corporate credit card ripped from an MIT employee and used to secure a Boston apartment and buy 2,600 worth of military uniforms, firearms and other equipment.
He stole that credit card and laptop computers from MIT while posing as a student there, officials said.
“He came to New York to live a life of luxury using the illicit profits of his crime,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations, Special Agent in Charge Angel Melendez.
The career con man has a miles-long rap sheet with busts in California, Montana, Pennsylvania and Indiana. He was released from prison in November after serving six years for impersonating a military officer.
“When he got out of prison, he needed to get the tools so he could get back to his old tricks,” one law enforcement source told The Post.
Wilson is obsessed with Leonardo DiCaprio’s 2002 film “Catch Me if You Can,” about famed con man Frank Abagnale, law enforcement sources said.
Wilson was charged with seven criminal counts which included grand larceny, possession of stolen property and unlawful possession of a personal identification.
“At various times during criminal history he has used forged documents posing as a citizen of Ireland and Canada,” Assistant District Attorney Diego Diaz said in court, noting that Wilson once passed himself off as an airline executive.
The perp’s BMW, which he leased with a bad check in Boston, was traced to Wall Street area parking garage, leading to his arrest.
Additional reporting by David K. Li