At 19 years old, Chas Allen, now and author and motivational speaker, was a member of the crew that pulled the Transylvania University rare book heist (one of the F.B.I.’s “all-time most significant art theft cases”) in Lexington, KY. Their haul included a first editions of John James Audubon’s BIRD OF AMERICA and Charles Darwin’s ON THE ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES. This heist inspired the film American Animals (out in June); in it, Allen is portrayed by Blake Jenner.

Allen made his debut as an author in 2011 with MR. PINK: THE INSIDE STORY OF THE TRANSYLVANIA BOOK HEIST. His next book, EVOLUTION: BECOMING A CRIMINAL, will release on June 19. With both, he hopes to be a “voice for people who are lost” and encourage them to “come back to the straight and narrow.”