French director Louis Malle adapted the Abscam story into a film script titled '' Moon Over Miami '' , with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi set to star , with Belushi playing a fictionalized version of Weinberg . Belushi 's death in March 1982 scuttled plans for the film . '' Saturday Night Live '' parodied the scandal in a skit titled " The Bel-Airabs " ( a spoof of '' The Beverly Hillbillies '' ) , February 9 , 1980 . '' Fridays '' parodied the scandal in a skit titled " Abscam Camera " ( a spoof of '' Candid Camera '' ) . The incident was also referenced in the '' Seinfeld '' episode " The Sniffing Accountant " . In music , artist Prince refers to the Abscam story in the track " Annie Christian " from his 1981 album '' Controversy '' . Abscam was also mentioned in the film '' Donnie Brasco '' when an agent suggests that a boat used in the operation be used undercover to impress Mafia kingpin Santo Trafficante , Jr. . A 1981 '' Bloom County '' comic strip in which Milo Bloom envisions himself as a senator on trial has him accused of ( among many things ) " taking money from FBI agents posing as Arab camel scalpers " . Members of the Abscam team were involved in the investigation into Jordan Belfort , as depicted in '' The Wolf of Wall Street '' . Abscam was also mentioned as an insult to an FBI agent on an episode of '' Simon & Simon '' . The '' Doonesbury '' comics also parody the investigation ; they show congressmen claiming that '' they '' were doing the sting operation to bust FBI agents who were bribing elected officials and working for foreign organizations hostile to the United States . In 1980 , folk singer Tom Paxton wrote and recorded the song " I Thought You Were an Arab " ( pronounced Ay ' - rab ) on his album '' The Paxton Report . '' The Abscam operation is dramatized in the 2013 feature film '' American Hustle '' , directed by David O. Russell , which received ten Academy Award nominations but no wins . The film is described as a " fictionalization " rather than a straight adaptation . The opening screen states , " Some of this actually happened . " The operation was also featured in a March 2019 episode of the true crime podcast Swindled
Academy Award nominations
86th Academy Awards
Abscam