‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ Jordan Belfort on Financial Fraud and Bitcoin (bitcoin)

‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ Jordan Belfort said pump and dump schemes – the type of crime that landed him in prison – is still around.

“It still happens to this day,” he said in an interview with TheStreet. “People use the Internet more now and chat rooms – they talk stocks up.”

He’s not sure if he could exactly recreate his pump and dump scheme in today’s environment, given the growth of the Internet.

As for the people who lost money from Belfort’s financial crimes, he’s using proceeds from his book and media career to pay them back.

Belfort is the author of the new book Way of the Wolf.

He said he’s paid back roughly $18 million-$19 million and plans to pay back more.

As for bitcoin, Belfort thinks it’s a fraud.

While he sees a future for cryptocurrencies, he’s concerned with the ability for hackers to steal one’s bitcoin.

“I know people who have lost all their money like that,” he said, adding that he would never buy bitcoin himself.

He expects a central bank to introduce a cryptocurrency of its own “and that’s what will take hold.”