A company has sued convicted felon Martin Shkreli for copying Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin album, which he was forced to forfeit due to his legal woes. According to court documents obtained, PleasrDAO—the current owner of Wu-Tang’s rare album—accused the infamous “Pharma Bro” of violating a forfeiture order and diminishing the project’s value.
“The album was supposed to constitute the sole existing copy of the record, music, data and files and packaging,” PleasrDAO’s lawyers wrote. “It now appears, however, that Shkreli improperly retained copies of the data and files at the time of the forfeiture and has released and/or intends to release them to the public.
“Such actions would cause PleasrDAO to incur significant monetary and irreparable harm, and give rise to numerous claims for relief under the forfeiture order and common law.”
PleasrDAO cited several examples of Shkreli bragging about copying the album on social media. Shkreli bought the album in 2015, two years before he was found guilty of securities fraud charges. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to forfeit $7.4 million in 2018. Shkreli gave up the Wu-Tang album to partially satisfy the forfeiture money judgment.
Shkreli was released from prison in 2022. The disgraced hedge fund manager claimed he kept MP3s of the Wu-Tang album and only “sold the plastic.”
“By his own admission, Shkreli retained copies of the album’s data and
files, played the album publicly on his ‘live stream’ and has sent it to at least 50 people,” PleasrDAO’s attorneys wrote. “His comments demonstrate that he is also willing to disseminate copies of the album’s data and files publicly, and that as many as ‘> 5,000 individuals’ may have already heard the album as a result of his actions.
“These actions occurred after he was ordered to forfeit his interests in the album. Shkreli therefore violated the Forfeiture Order’s provisions requiring Shkreli to forfeit his interests in the album and prohibiting him from taking any action that would reduce the album’s value.”
PleasrDAO bought Once Upon a Time in Shaolin for $4.75 million. The company sued Shkreli for misappropriation of confidential information, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage and unjust enrichment, among other claims. PleasrDAO sought damages and an order to seize Shkreli’s copies of the Wu-Tang album.
