The ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Jordan Belfort is suing the company that bankrolled the epic for FRAUD

Jordan Belfort, the stockbroker who inspired Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, is suing the production company that funded the movie for fraud. 

Belfort filed his suit against Red Granite Pictures in the Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming that the movie was financed by money pilfered from the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad fund (1MDB). 

His lawyers contend that Belfort’s legacy has been tarnished by the scandal that slammed the company in 2017, the Los Angeles Times reports.

When Belfort signed his book and story rights over to Red Granite, his lawyers contend that he didn’t know the company was being funded by negative entities. 

The 15-page complaint also states that Belfort has been unable to secure another film deal for his follow-up book ‘Catching the Wolf of Wall Street’ as he is still tied to the Red Granite deal.

Belfort is seeking $300million in damages and names Red Granite and its co-founder Riza Aziz in the suit. Aziz is the stepson of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. 

When Belfort signed his book and story rights over to Red Granite, his lawyers contend that he didn’t know the film (pictured) was being funded by negative entities

‘Belfort is significantly damaged by Red Granite’s tainting of his book/story rights, coupled with Red Granite’s inability and/or refusal to exploit and maximize the rights acquired from Belfort as required by contract, due to the highly publicized scandal and amid the allegations of their direct involvement,’ the suit states. 

Belfort, a motivational speaker, spent 22 months in prison after pleading guilty in 1999 to securities fraud and money laundering. 

Matthew L Schwartz, a lawyer representing Red Granite, called the suit ‘supremely ironic.’ 

‘Jordan Belfort’s lawsuit is nothing more than a desperate and supremely ironic attempt to get out from under an agreement that for the first time in his life made him rich and famous through lawful and legitimate means,’ the lawyer added. 

Belfort is seeking $300million in damages and names Red Granite and its co-founder Riza Aziz (pictured) in the suit. Aziz is the stepson of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak

The film was fully financed by Red Granite and distributed by Paramount Pictures, where it grossed nearly $400million at the global box office and was nominated for five Oscars. 

But ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ was met with controversy as the Department of Justice alleged that Malaysian government officials and their connections stole some $4.5billion from the fund between 2009 and 2015. 

Red Granite officials said that they had no knowledge of receiving tainted funds but agreed to pay $60million to settle the case in March 2018. 

Aziz pleaded not guilty after he was charged last year with laundering $248million from the Malaysian investment fund.    

THE MARKET SWINDLER WHOSE LAVISH LIFESTYLE AND DODGY DEALS TOOK HIM FROM COUNTRY ESTATES TO JAIL 

Belfort, from The Bronx, started out as a trader at LF Rothschild but claims he was laid off after the market crash of 1987. He then claims to have founded Stratton Oakmont with friends, although other sources say he and his partners bought out the original founder.

Stratton Oakmont was what is now called a ‘boiler room’ that marketed penny stocks – those of minimal value – and defrauded investors with the ‘pump and dump’ type of stock sales, taking large commissions on the trades, often at the expense of their investors. During his years at Stratton, Belfort developed a lifestyle of lavish parties and heavy use of recreational drugs, especially methaqualone — known by its brand name Quaalude — which he became addicted to.

Jordan Belfort served 22 months in jail

Stratton Oakmont at one point employed over 1,000 stock brokers and was involved in stock issues totaling more than $1 billion, including being behind the initial public offering for footwear company Steve Madden Ltd. The notoriety of the firm, targeted by law enforcement officials through virtually its entire history, inspired the films Boiler Room (2000), about unscrupulous market traders, and 2013 biopic The Wolf of Wall Street.

The National Association of Securities Dealers (now the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) started pursuing Stratton Oakmont in 1987 and eight years later, they eventually secured its permanent shutdown in 1995. Belfort was then indicted for securities fraud and money laundering.

Belfort served 22 months at the Taft Correctional Center in Taft, California, in exchange for a plea deal with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the pump-and-dump scams he ran that led investors to lose approximately $200 million and he was ordered to pay back $110.4 million that he swindled from stock buyers.

Belfort shared a cell with Tommy Chong while serving his sentence, and Chong encouraged Belfort to write about his experiences as a stockbroker. He now makes his money as a writer and motivational speaker.