Martin Shkreli, the infamous “pharma bro” convicted of securities fraud, on Monday was ordered to surrender the single-edition Wu-Tang Clan album he purchased and is barred from copying or selling it.
In New York, Judge Pamela K. Chen granted a restraining order against Shkreli, forbidding him from “possessing, using, disseminating, or selling any interest in the Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” including all music, data and artwork associated with it.
The order is the latest twist in the long-running ownership saga around the album, the subject of an ongoing suit between Shkreli and PleasrDAO, a group of NFT art collectors who bought control of the album between 2021 and 2024.
The group alleges that Shkreli had made copies of the album, intended to be a one-of-one listening experience for its owner, and “intends to release them to the public,” according to the suit.
Shkreli’s lawyer Edward Paltzik said in a statement to media that “this Order is merely a preliminary measure entered by the Court to maintain the perceived status quo before any discovery occurs — the Order has no bearing whatsoever on the final outcome of the case.”
Shkreli earned global notoriety as the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, which radically raised the price of the drug Daraprim, used by AIDS patients, from $13.50 a pill to $750 a pill.
In 2015, Shkreli paid $2 million to purchase “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” an album the acclaimed New York hip-hop group released as a single-copy, double-CD edition in a custom nickel box and leather-bound liner notes, with no other streaming or physical release.
Shkreli was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy for his actions as CEO of the biotech company Retrophin, and was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2018. Funds from the sale of “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” were supposed to help pay a $750,000 fine and a $7.4 million asset forfeiture as part of his sentencing.
However, Shkreli has bragged that he kept digital copies of the music — “LOL i have the mp3s you moron,” he once wrote on X.
Under the order, Shkreli must surrender any copies of the album to his attorneys by Friday and disclose all duplications, who he gave them to, and if he earned any money from their sale.
Steven Cooper, PleasrDAO’s attorney, said in a statement to media that “We are pleased that Judge Chen recognized that immediate relief was necessary to thwart the continuing bad acts of Mr. Shrkeli.”
