The Real Wolf of Wall Street - Jordan Belfort

Jordan Ross Belfort (born July 9, 1962) is an American author, motivational speaker, and former stockbroker who pleaded guilty to fraud and related crimes in connection with stock market manipulation and running a boiler room as part of a penny stock scam. Belfort spent 22 months in prison as part of an agreement under which he gave testimony against numerous partners and subordinates in his fraud scheme. He published a memoir, The Wolf of Wall Street, which was adapted into a film, released in 2013. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Belfort.

Belfort’s restitution agreement required him to pay 50% of his income towards restitution to the 1,513 clients he defrauded until 2009, with a total of $110 million in restitution is further mandated. Of the US$11.6 million that had been recovered by Belfort's victims as of 2013, about US$10 million of the total was the result of the sale of forfeited properties.

In October 2013, federal prosecutors filed a complaint against Belfort. Several days later the U.S. government then withdrew its motion to find Belfort in default of his payments, after Belfort’s lawyers argued that Belfort had only been responsible for paying 50% of his salary to restitution up until 2009, and not since. The restitution he paid during his parole period (since departing from prison) amounted to “$382,910 in 2007, $148,799 in 2008, and $170,000 in 2009.” Following this period, Belfort began negotiating a restitution payment plan with the US government. The final deal Belfort made with the government was to pay a minimum of $10,000 per month for life towards the restitution, after a judge ruled that Belfort was not required to pay 50% of his income past the end of his parole. He has claimed that he is additionally putting the profits from his US public speaking engagements and media royalties towards the restitution, in addition to the $10,000 per month.

Prosecutors also said that he had fled to Australia to avoid taxes and conceal his assets from his victims, but later recanted their statement, which had been given to the Wall Street Journal, by issuing Belfort an official apology and requesting the WSJ print a retraction. While Belfort also claimed on his website and elsewhere that he intended to request that "100% of the royalties" from his books and the Wolf of Wall Street film be turned over to victims. In June 2014, spokesmen for the U.S. attorney said Belfort's claim was "not factual", claiming that he had received money from the initial sale of the movie rights that was not entirely put towards his restitution repayment. BusinessWeek reported that of approximately $1.2 million paid to Belfort in connection with the film before its release, Belfort had paid only $21,000 toward his restitution obligations. Belfort has stated that while he offered to put 100% of his book deal money towards his restitution, the government refused the offer.

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