Ex-convict Martin Shkreli, best known for his nickname “Pharma Bro,” is having about as much luck being sued as he did avoiding jail time for committing securities fraud.
On Monday, a federal judge ordered Shkreli to turn over all copies he made of the unreleased Wu-Tang Clan album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” to his attorneys by no later than Aug. 30.
He has also been given until Sept. 30 to report anyone he gave copies of the album to, and all money he may have received for it.
Shkreli is being sued by a cryptocurrency collective called PleasrDAO that currently owns “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.” The group has accused him of making digital copies of the record and selling them, a violation of the terms under which he bought the album in 2015.
“Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” a 31-track concept album completed in 2014, is sometimes referred to as the rarest album in music history because it has never actually been released. A single physical copy was printed and the group’s leader, RZA, said at the time it was intended to be experienced as a piece of art, like a painting. (Other members of the band, most prominently Method Man, have indicated they neither agreed with nor supported this decision.)
It was put up for auction in 2015, at which time Shkreli paid $2 million for it. As a condition of ownership, he agreed not to make copies or distribute the record in any way until the year 2103.
After his 2017 conviction on charges of defrauding investors, for which he was sentenced to seven years in prison, his assets were seized. The government sold the album to PleasrDAO in July 2021 for $4 million to recover part of the $7 million Shkreli was ordered to pay when he was convicted.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
Leave a Reply