Eventually he was caught in France in 1969. The French police apprehended him The U.S. sentenced him to 12 years in federal prison for multiple counts of check forgery. In 1974, after he had served less than five years, the U.S. federal government released him on the condition that he would help the federal authorities without pay against crimes committed by fraud and scam artists, and sign in once a week. Not wanting to return to his family in New York, he left the choice of parole up to the court, and it was decided that he would be paroled in Texas.