In the fall of 2007, I started receiving letters from friends and outsiders about a new book, The Wolf of Wall Street. People were comparing Jordan Belfort's autobiography to my memoir, Bust, that had come out seven months earlier. Shortly thereafter, I received a copy at my residence -- unfortunately at the time, it was a federal prison in Colorado. I found his book to be incredibly entertaining, a great read. However, other than a few words at the end -- which appeared bizarrely close to some of my own -- and the obvious fact that we both committed crimes, I didn't see many similarities between the two of us. Six years later, despite some recent comparisons, I see even less.
1) For starters, my book is entirely non-fiction. Sure, I changed a few names to protect the innocent and guilty. In light of James Frey's controversial best seller, A Million Little Pieces, my publisher at the time, the famed Judith Regan, and I were adamant about backing up all of my assertions. While in prison, I even received a letter from the General Counsel of Harper Collins asking if I really provided documentation for an obscure high school soccer record. Unlike most autobiographies that purport to be exclusively written by the subject, I chose to put my co-authors name on the cover and give him the recognition that he deserved. From my understanding, Belfort's memoir isn't necessarily fiction, but he certainly took some artistic liberties to embellish his past. And, doing so has paid huge dividends.
2) Our business careers were quite different, too. I built and sold legitimate ancillary health care companies and consulted for CEO's of large private and publicly traded companies. Prior to founding the infamous Stratton Oakmant, Belfort sold meat door-to-door. It's hard to accept his representations that he built many successful businesses because all of it was done with illicit funds during the time his criminal enterprise was in operation.
3) Our prison experiences were vastly different too. He self-surrendered to a prison camp in California where he befriended Tommy Chong, half of the iconic duo Cheech and Chong, and where his biggest concern was who was his next backgammon match. Despite cooperating, I was given a little diesel therapy and sent multiple times to maximum security prisons courtesy of Con-Air. I also did two months more than he did. The closest I ever got to Cheech and Chong was a six foot glass bong in college, and my biggest concern in prison was if I was going to get shanked, again.
4) In less then five years I have paid millions in restitution even knowing there are some real questions about my $10 million restitution order. I have also recovered over $50 million for the U.S. Treasury and saved an unquantifiable amount more by whistle blowing against long-term care companies that are jeopardizing the safety of helpless nursing home patients. In over a decade, Mr. Belfort has paid less than one percent of his restitution, which was ordered to be $110 million (no, forefeiture doesn't count). He swindled thousands of clueless, hard-working Americans who lost their life savings and who are still waiting for a few pennies. Anyone who lost money in my case is whole and now, in a bizarre twist, are actually profiting from my restitution.
5) I have kept my mouth publicly shut about many unethical actions by prosecutors. He wrote in his book that prosecutor, Joel Cohen, was a disheveled, world-class bastard and degenerate slouch. Yet, the government is negotiating with him towards a settlement of his restitution.
At this point, you might be saying to yourself , this guy is really jealous. And the honest answer to that would be yes with respect to points four and five. Wouldn't you be too?
6) I'm attempting to make a difference and a lot of money by exposing egregious financial and health care frauds that directly impact much of the country. He is trying to sell his proprietary "Straight Line System" for $2,000 to anyone, even if they can't read or speak.
7) I'm 41 years old and six-foot-two. He is 51 years old and five-foot-seven. Yet, he has a gorgeous head of hair and I went bald when I was fifteen.
8) He's engaged to his soon-to-be third wife and I'm still married to my college girlfriend.
9) Belfort posts pictures on Facebook of he and his fiancee boarding a private jet to celebrate their engagement. I post pictures of my former hair piece.
10) My book Bust was a bust after my judge decided that my NBC Dateline appearance was enough and appearing on Oprah to promote my book wouldn't be the right thing to do for my children. So off I went in shackles. His movie is being directed by the great Martin Scorcese and one of my favorite actors, Leonardo Dicaprio. The closest I ever got to Scorcese was a bookie from Cleveland in college trying to intimidate me with the following message, "So whats a matta sweethaht, you donnwanna talk to me? I did sit next to Dicaprio at a Lakers/Houston Rockets game but by the second half he moved his grandmother down to the courtside. I guess I didn't have the same gift of gab that Belfort does.
What Belfort and I do have in common is that we have a story, just like everyone else. The nature of our bad acts just gave us a platform to tell it. That's the fork in the road for everyone who does something wrong. I'd like to think that my transgression was an aberration. While my book describes my highs and lows as a gambling addict, it's intended to be a real cautionary tale -- not a made for Hollywood spectacle. I'm a glass half full guy, therefore, I'm hoping that Belfort's proprietary straight line system isn't a reincarnation of his past ways, and that the Wolf of Wall Street is confined to the fiction of the silver screen now. After all, redemption doesn't come through ticket sales. For me, at least, I view it as something that I will seek until my very last breath. I hope he does too.
1) For starters, my book is entirely non-fiction. Sure, I changed a few names to protect the innocent and guilty. In light of James Frey's controversial best seller, A Million Little Pieces, my publisher at the time, the famed Judith Regan, and I were adamant about backing up all of my assertions. While in prison, I even received a letter from the General Counsel of Harper Collins asking if I really provided documentation for an obscure high school soccer record. Unlike most autobiographies that purport to be exclusively written by the subject, I chose to put my co-authors name on the cover and give him the recognition that he deserved. From my understanding, Belfort's memoir isn't necessarily fiction, but he certainly took some artistic liberties to embellish his past. And, doing so has paid huge dividends.
2) Our business careers were quite different, too. I built and sold legitimate ancillary health care companies and consulted for CEO's of large private and publicly traded companies. Prior to founding the infamous Stratton Oakmant, Belfort sold meat door-to-door. It's hard to accept his representations that he built many successful businesses because all of it was done with illicit funds during the time his criminal enterprise was in operation.
3) Our prison experiences were vastly different too. He self-surrendered to a prison camp in California where he befriended Tommy Chong, half of the iconic duo Cheech and Chong, and where his biggest concern was who was his next backgammon match. Despite cooperating, I was given a little diesel therapy and sent multiple times to maximum security prisons courtesy of Con-Air. I also did two months more than he did. The closest I ever got to Cheech and Chong was a six foot glass bong in college, and my biggest concern in prison was if I was going to get shanked, again.
4) In less then five years I have paid millions in restitution even knowing there are some real questions about my $10 million restitution order. I have also recovered over $50 million for the U.S. Treasury and saved an unquantifiable amount more by whistle blowing against long-term care companies that are jeopardizing the safety of helpless nursing home patients. In over a decade, Mr. Belfort has paid less than one percent of his restitution, which was ordered to be $110 million (no, forefeiture doesn't count). He swindled thousands of clueless, hard-working Americans who lost their life savings and who are still waiting for a few pennies. Anyone who lost money in my case is whole and now, in a bizarre twist, are actually profiting from my restitution.
5) I have kept my mouth publicly shut about many unethical actions by prosecutors. He wrote in his book that prosecutor, Joel Cohen, was a disheveled, world-class bastard and degenerate slouch. Yet, the government is negotiating with him towards a settlement of his restitution.
At this point, you might be saying to yourself , this guy is really jealous. And the honest answer to that would be yes with respect to points four and five. Wouldn't you be too?
6) I'm attempting to make a difference and a lot of money by exposing egregious financial and health care frauds that directly impact much of the country. He is trying to sell his proprietary "Straight Line System" for $2,000 to anyone, even if they can't read or speak.
7) I'm 41 years old and six-foot-two. He is 51 years old and five-foot-seven. Yet, he has a gorgeous head of hair and I went bald when I was fifteen.
8) He's engaged to his soon-to-be third wife and I'm still married to my college girlfriend.
9) Belfort posts pictures on Facebook of he and his fiancee boarding a private jet to celebrate their engagement. I post pictures of my former hair piece.
10) My book Bust was a bust after my judge decided that my NBC Dateline appearance was enough and appearing on Oprah to promote my book wouldn't be the right thing to do for my children. So off I went in shackles. His movie is being directed by the great Martin Scorcese and one of my favorite actors, Leonardo Dicaprio. The closest I ever got to Scorcese was a bookie from Cleveland in college trying to intimidate me with the following message, "So whats a matta sweethaht, you donnwanna talk to me? I did sit next to Dicaprio at a Lakers/Houston Rockets game but by the second half he moved his grandmother down to the courtside. I guess I didn't have the same gift of gab that Belfort does.
What Belfort and I do have in common is that we have a story, just like everyone else. The nature of our bad acts just gave us a platform to tell it. That's the fork in the road for everyone who does something wrong. I'd like to think that my transgression was an aberration. While my book describes my highs and lows as a gambling addict, it's intended to be a real cautionary tale -- not a made for Hollywood spectacle. I'm a glass half full guy, therefore, I'm hoping that Belfort's proprietary straight line system isn't a reincarnation of his past ways, and that the Wolf of Wall Street is confined to the fiction of the silver screen now. After all, redemption doesn't come through ticket sales. For me, at least, I view it as something that I will seek until my very last breath. I hope he does too.