A federal judge in New York has mandated that Martin Shkreli, known as “Pharma Bro,” must surrender any copies he has of the elusive Wu-Tang Clan album, “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.” Shkreli, a former pharmaceutical executive, had previously forfeited the album’s only physical copy to settle court debts following his 2017 conviction for securities fraud.
The current owner of the album has alleged that Shkreli has kept digital versions and has shared the music, thereby violating the forfeiture order. Shkreli has been instructed to relinquish all copies of the album by the end of this week.
The multi-platinum hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan produced only one copy of “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” which they auctioned in 2015 under the stipulation that it would never be made available to the public. The album, a six-year labor of love comprising 31 tracks, was intended to be appreciated as a modern art piece. It was sold to Shkreli for approximately $2 million, a year when he gained notoriety for drastically raising the price of the critical drug Daraprim, a decision he later rescinded.
After his 2017 securities fraud conviction, which involved deceiving investors and causing them significant losses, Shkreli was ordered to forfeit $7.4 million to the federal government, which included the Wu-Tang album among his assets. He was released from prison in 2022 after serving most of a seven-year sentence.
The claims regarding Shkreli retaining digital copies of the album have emerged from PleasrDAO, a cryptocurrency group that has now filed a lawsuit against him. This collective recently purchased the physical copy of “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” for around $4.75 million.
Last month, the judge prohibited Shkreli from streaming or sharing the album, and the new ruling emphasizes that he cannot possess any version of the album or its contents. A lawyer representing PleasrDAO characterized this decision as “an important victory.” Conversely, Shkreli’s legal counsel noted that the order is a preliminary measure, asserting that it does not impact the ultimate resolution of the case.
