Wolf of Wall Street 'Funded With Embezzled Money' Lawsuit Claims

The producers behind Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street are being accused of funding the film with embezzled money, according to a lawsuit.

Brad Krevoy and Steve Stabler, producers of the 1994 film Dumb and Dumber, are suing production company Red Granite pictures for excluding them in the upcoming sequel to the hit comedy.

As part of the claim, Krevoy and Stabler are accusing two of Red Granite's backers, Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland, of funding Dumb and Dumber To, as well as Wolf of Wall Street after engaging in racketeering activity, according the Hollywood Reporter.

"Red Granite is funded with monies that include proceeds from offenses against a foreign nation that involve bribery of public officials, or misappropriation, theft, or embezzlement of public funds by a public official," the complaint reads.

Krevoy and Stabler add that "ill-gotten funds have then been invested in Red Granite," and Aziz and McFarland "engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity, in that they have engaged in multiple financial transactions within the United States - including financing of The Wolf of Wall Street and then separately financing Dumb and Dumber To.

"The transactions were designed to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, or control of the proceeds of the illegal activity."

It is not clear where the accusations regarding the funding of Wolf of Wall Street – ironically a film about multi-million dollar fraud – stem from. Krevoy and Stabler say the accusations surfaced following published reports that "individuals based in Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia and other countries in Asia and the Middle East have engaged in unlawful activities".

Red Granite have denied all the allegations against them. A spokesperson added: "These false, malicious and baseless allegations are demonstrably untrue, and Red Granite looks forward to the prompt dismissal of these claims."