<Tr> <Th> Conviction (s) </Th> <Td> Securities fraud, money laundering </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> JordanBelfort.com </Td> </Tr> <P> Jordan Ross Belfort (/ ˈbɛlfɔːrt /; born July 9, 1962) is an American author, motivational speaker, and former stockbroker . In 1999, he 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 the memoir The Wolf of Wall Street, which was adapted into a film and released in 2013 . </P> <P> Belfort was born in 1962 in the Bronx borough of New York City to a Jewish family . His parents Leah and Max Belfort are both accountants . He was raised in Bayside, Queens . Between completing high school and starting college, Belfort and his close childhood friend Elliot Loewenstern earned $20,000 selling Italian ice from styrofoam coolers to people at a local beach . Belfort went on to graduate from American University with a degree in biology . Belfort planned on using the money earned with Loewenstern to pay for dental school, and he enrolled at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry however, he left after the dean of the school said to him on his first day at the college: "The golden age of dentistry is over . If you're here simply because you're looking to make a lot of money, you're in the wrong place ." </P>

Who was the wolf of wall street in real life