A banker who claims he was defamed by the makers of The Wolf of Wall Street has won the right to proceed with a $50m lawsuit against Paramount Pictures, according to the New York Daily News.

In February last year, Andrew Greene, who was on the board of directors of Stratton Oakmont, the brokerage firm portrayed as a den of hedonistic excess and impropriety in Martin Scorsese’s film, filed a claim saying the character of Nicky Koskoff (played by PJ Byrne) bore a resemblance to himself. He said that the film-makers’ depiction of Koskoff was damaging to him, citing in court papers the character’s portrayal as a “criminal, drug user, degenerate, depraved and devoid of any morals or ethics”.

The Wolf of Wall Street trailer: Scorsese and DiCaprio reunite Guardian

Paramount’s lawyers’ claim that the character of Koskoff is an amalgamation of many people mentioned in the Jordan Belfort book on which the film is based, and that it would not be reasonable to identify him as Greene. But New York Eastern District Judge Joanna Seybert said that Greene was arguing “libel by fiction”, and that he need only prove that people he knew could reasonably be expected to associate the character with him.

The Wolf of Wall Street, which was a box office hit and received multiple Oscar nominations in 2014, is based on the tell-all memoir by former Wall Street trader Belfort. In the film, Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) engages in fraud and corruption and uses drugs and prostitutes while working for Stratton Oakmont. Koskoff is one of his cohorts, and is referred to as “Rugrat” in the film because he wears a wig. Greene also wore a hairpiece, but was referred to as “Wigwam”. The film shows Koskoff arrested for money laundering. Greene was never implicated in wrongdoing.

Paramount has responded by denying malice, citing their first amendment rights and admitting that some elements of the character – namely his hair – are derived from Greene, but that the descriptions of the wig as “a piece of shit hairpiece” are factually accurate, so can’t be used in the claim. “Some or all of the allegedly defamatory statements complained of by plaintiff (Greene) are true or substantially true, and thus cannot give rise to any claim against any defendant,” they wrote.

The Wolf of Wall Street star Jonah Hill: ‘A part of every one of us wants everything’ Guardian

The Wolf of Wall Street has proved a popular, if controversial, film since its release. It was the most pirated film of 2014, and was attacked by some critics for glamourising the brokers’ bad behaviour. After its release, Belfort, who served 22 months in prison for securities violations, was pursued by the US government, which sought permission to seize 50% of his $1m (£610,000) rights payments, to pay compensation to his victims. DiCaprio also came under fire for helping to promote Belfort’s motivational speaking career in a video testimonial.