

The following year, he released Catching the Wolf of Wall Street. Belfort published his first memoir, The Wolf of Wall Street, in 2008. He was sentenced in 2003 to four years in prison but only served 22 months. In 1999, Belfort pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money laundering. The Securities Exchange Commission began efforts to stop the company's errant ways in 1992. The company made millions illegally, defrauding its investors.


He was running his own investment operation, Stratton Oakmont, by 1989. After that company went bust, Belfort began selling stocks in 1987. Jordan Belfort had a natural talent as a salesman at an early age, operating a meat and seafood business in the 1980s.
