The real-life fraudster depicted inThe Wolf of Wall Streetis suing one of the film’s producers for $300 million.
According toVariety, Aziz is facing corruption charges in Malaysia for allegedly stealing $248 million from a state-run development fund. Belfort, in the court documents, claims the increased scrutiny on Aziz has tarnished the value of his story’s rights.
Had he known of the alleged embezzling, Belfort said in the lawsuit, he would never have sold the rights.
Jordan Belfort.Maurice/Getty
Representatives from Red Granite Pictures did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
In a statement toBBC News, Red Granite’s lawyer Matthew Schwartz said: “Jordan Belfort’s lawsuit is nothing more than a desperate and supremely ironic attempt to get out from under an agreement that for the first time in his life made him rich and famous through lawful and legitimate means.”
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Wolf of Wall Street, which also starredJonah Hill,Margot RobbieandMatthew McConaughey, earned DiCaprio, 45, his fourth Academy Award nomination, though he wouldn’twin his first Oscaruntil 2015 forThe Revenant.
In 2014, DiCaprio spoke withVarietyabout working with the real-life Belfort to build his big screen performance.
“My relationship with Jordan from an actor’s perspective was great, because there’s nothing he wouldn’t tell me,” he said at the time, adding that Belfort told him, after seeing the film: “I’m ashamed to admit my favorite movie of all time happens to be about me.”
source: people.com
