NEW YORK — Jordan Belfort insists he’s a changed man.
The old Belfort was a notorious stock swindler who squandered profits from a boiler-room, “pump and dump” scheme on cocaine, prostitutes and other excesses — a story that became the basis for two memoirs and “The Wolf of Wall Street,” an upcoming movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
The new Belfort is a business consultant who claims he would never tell a lie and frets over suggestions that he might be avoiding payments on $110 million in restitution.
“It’s very strange being accused of something I wouldn’t have done in a million years,” said Belfort, 51. “It’s so not where my head is at.”
The film — directed by Martin Scorsese and set for release on Christmas Day — chronicles Belfort’s antics as chairman of Stratton Oakmont Inc., the firm he started with a few desks and phones set up in a former Long Island auto shop.
Looking back, he says becoming rich by deceit wasn’t worth it. “Fraud is not something you want to be good at,” he said.
