The Wolf of Wall Street, Martin Scorsese’s new film about the machinations for Jordan Belfort played in a brilliant turn by Leonardo di Caprio, is too long. What is missing from the reviews is the fact that Goldman Sachs looks just like this fun house mirror.
For investors who can’t get into Goldman deals and brokers who don’t have the right resume for firms like Goldman, what better choice than a small firm that does the same thing but welcomers all comers.
That story is the real story of the film. Where can the little guy go to make money the way Goldman does? Getting a 25% return on investment regularly.
Jordan Belfort, founder of the firm. was “able to gather in the sales force and promise them riches beyond belief,” says Ira Sorkin, a well-known white collar criminals’ lawyer.
Joel M. Cohen, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher says, “It was about pushing stock to unsuspecting investors with all kinds of hard-sell tactics to get people to buy stuff that wasn’t suitable for them.”
Mr. Belfort and his employees ran a classic pump-and-dump scheme, The sales force would pitch customers on the stock, helping drive up the price and creating an economic gain for the company insiders. After the price rose to a certain level, the brokers would dump their holdings on the market, causing the stock to collapse.
Mr. Coleman, the F.B.I. agent, said the big break in the case came when Mr. Belfort set up offshore corporations and bank accounts to smuggle cash out of the United States. That allowed the government to go after him for money laundering, gaining leverage in the longer-running investigation into the pump-and-dump scheme.
Switzerland is a major character in the film. When the signatory on a bank account dies, they arrange for Belfort to immediately come to Geneva and forge documents.
Mr. Belfort’s cooperation with the FBI helped him avoid a lengthy prison sentence. Another factor that reduced his jail time was that he was considered a drug addict. A judge sentenced Mr. Belfort to four years in prison, though he ended up serving only 22 months.
After writing a memoir and signing a movie deal, Mr. Belfort is now portrayed on the big screen by Leonardo DiCaprio.
That is “an interesting way to end your career,” Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan, said. “Do the bad guys always win?”
