new york
CNN
—
Martin Shkreli, the notorious “pharma bro” once convicted of securities fraud, has turned over all of his copies of an exclusive Wu-Tang Clan album that could be worth millions of dollars to his lawyers and will be barred from selling or distributing the album, a federal judge has ruled.
Judge Pamela Chen of the Eastern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction against Shkreli for “possessing, using, distributing or selling any interest in the Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” including all data, files and other content from the album.
Monday’s ruling marks another step in the ongoing litigation between Shkreli and PleasrDAO, a group of NFT collectors that bought the album for a total of $4.74 million in two transactions in 2021 and 2024. But they sued Shkreli in June because the convicted executives were in possession of copies of the album and “intended to make them available to the public,” according to the complaint.
“This order is merely a preliminary measure by the court intended to maintain the status quo prior to any discovery taking place and will have no effect on the ultimate outcome of this case,” Shkreli’s lawyer, Edward Palzig, said in a statement.
Once Upon a Time in Shaolin was produced by Wu-Tang Clan in secret over the course of six years; the band produced a single double-CD set with no plans for a digital or streaming release. In 2015, Shkreli reportedly paid $2 million for the album. The album included a hand-carved nickel silver box, a leather-bound manuscript of the lyrics, and a certificate of authenticity.
By releasing just one album, the legendary hip-hop group wanted to “present a work of art unlike anything else in the history of music,” Wu-Tang Clan member Robert “RZA” Diggs told Forbes magazine in 2014.
But despite PleasrDAO officially owning the only copy of the album, Shkreli hosted a livestream in which he bragged about owning a copy and performed excerpts from the album, the lawsuit filed by PleasrDAO alleges.
The lawsuit also alleges that Shkreli responded to X’s PleasrDAO members in a series of posts in April 2024, claiming to have music files for the album in storage.
“LOL, I have the MP3, idiot,” Shkreli wrote to X.
The lawsuit also alleges that Shkreli said on a podcast in May that he “burned the album and sent it to like 50 girls.”
Shkreli gained notoriety as CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, who raised the price of Daraprim, a life-saving drug used by AIDS patients, from $13.50 a pill to $750.
He was indicted and convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy charges related to his time as CEO of another biotech company, Retrophin (RTRX), from which he was fired in 2014. In 2018, he was sentenced to seven years in federal prison and ordered to pay a $750,000 fine in addition to $7.4 million in forfeitures.
The proceeds from the sale of “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” were used to cover the remaining amount of the forfeited money.
Under Monday’s ruling, Shkreli must return all copies of the album to his defense by Aug. 30 and sign an affidavit confirming that he has done so. He must also sign another affidavit by Sept. 30 listing all copies he owns, the people who received copies (including their names and addresses), and the amount of money he made from distributing them.
Attorney Steven Cooper, who represents PleasrDAO, called the case an “important victory” in a statement: “We are pleased that Judge Chen recognized that immediate relief is necessary to stop Mr. Shulkeri’s misdeeds.”
CNN has reached out to Wu-Tang Clan for comment.
CNN’s Moira Ritter and Chris Isidore contributed to this report.
