Stratton Oakmont, Inc. was a notorious American brokerage firm founded in 1989 by Jordan Belfort and Danny Porush, infamous for its “pump-and-dump” stock schemes and aggressive sales tactics that defrauded thousands of investors. Operating out of Lake Success, New York, the firm grew into one of the largest over-the-counter trading houses in the U.S., handling IPOs for companies like Steve Madden, but its success was built on manipulation and fraud. Regulators, including the NASD and SEC, repeatedly investigated the company, and in 1996 it was expelled from the NASD, effectively shutting it down. Belfort and Porush later pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money laundering, serving prison sentences while cooperating with prosecutors. The firm’s excesses—lavish parties, luxury lifestyles, and brazen disregard for financial rules—became emblematic of Wall Street corruption and were immortalized in Martin Scorsese’s film The Wolf of Wall Street.
