TRUE CRIME FRIDAY: THE REAL WOLF OF WALL STREET

Ninetoes gets the down low of what really went on behind the scenes with the real “Wolf of Wall Street”, and sometimes the truth is even better than fiction.

Hollywood turned Jordan Belfort into a legend. The parties, the money, all real. So were the victims. Now hear the truth from those who lived through the chaos and survived.

Created by Jesse Sweet

Starring Jordan Belfort, Richard Bronson, and Howie Gelfand

Hey there, television lovers. It is your old pal, Ninetoes, coming to you from Ninetoes HQ. Today I am looking at the PARAMOUNT + three-part series, The Real Wolf of Wall Street. I have coffee in my system, and my thinking cap on, so let’s get to it!

The first thing to note about this show is you are going to hear that everything that happened in Jordan Belfort’s book and Martin Scorcese’s movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, is mostly bullshit. If there is something that Jordan Belfort loves more than money and drugs, it is Jordan Belfort. His book is a portrayal as him as a hero, but he was anything but.

Here’s the thing to keep in mind, he found a way to play the system, and took it to beyond excess. He built a brokerage house built on sex, drugs and lies. The main lie was the stocks that were being sold. They were “penny stocks”, the kind of stock that did not make it to a listing on Wall Street. The commission on these stocks were fifty percent. That means if they sold $1,000 of the penny stock, the broker took home $500. You can imagine how this would go to someone’s head, and Belfort was a hell of a salesman. His first outing in penny stocks he brought in $4,000. Those around him asked how he did that. It did not take long for the light bulb to go off and create a fancy sounding brokerage house to rake in the money.

The problem?

The brokerage house, Stratton Oakmont, sold penny stocks, the kind of stock the wealthy would not touch, and the targets were the every-day person: blue collar workers, the elderly, anyone who did not have any knowledge about a good stock versus a bad stock, and they would cold call the person and convince them to buy worthless stocks built on lies. Cold calling is where they would call a person out of the blue, especially around dinner time, and pitch the stocks. They used high-pressure sales tactics without it sounding like they were high pressure.

With the money they were consistently raking in, it would not take long for the Securities Exchange Commission to come knocking on their door to investigate. When that didn’t work, the FBI got involved. They knew what they were doing was illegal, but at the amounts that were being raked in, Belfort and his merry band felt bulletproof.

They were anything but bulletproof.

Belfort would be banned from trading stocks and having anything to do with Stratton Oakmont. The scene in the movie where he says to his troops, “I’m not fucking leaving!” is totally made up. AND, when he cooperated with the FBI to “rat” on his friends and coworkers, he flipped faster than the coin at the Super Bowl. He wore a wire, in fact just about everyone was wearing a wire in the end to get every speck of dirt the FBI could use.

In 1999, Jordan Belfort pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money laundering. He was sentenced to four years by a federal judge. He was ordered to pay $110.4 million in restitution. He got a reduced sentence for his extensive cooperation with the FBI and for testifying against his former friends and co-workers.

Not all crimes are bloody.

Not all crimes involve violent weapons.

Not all crimes end up in tragic deaths.

But they are just as devastating.

This three-part series was eye-opening to say the least. It is amazing to see how easy it was to sell the common person on a lie of potential wealth. The problem is, these types of crimes are still being done, and people are falling for it. Then again, the criminals have more sophisticated tools at their disposal.

This show is perfect for anyone interested in bloodless crimes, and the truth behind the curtains.

Until the next time, I bid you happy viewing!

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing, nor do the views or opinions of Crystal Lake necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or its staff. Thank you for understanding.