Martin Shkreli is being sued by the company that owns the one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin for copying and playing the album without prior permission.
“Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli Faces New Lawsuit
On Monday (June 10), digital art collective PleasrDAO filed a lawsuit against “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli in New York Eastern District Court, according to court documents obtained by XXL on Wednesday (June 12). Shkreli purchased the 1-of-1 album for $2 million in 2015. PleasrDAO bought the album for $4,750,000 in 2024, according to the suit. However, the group is claiming the former pharmaceutical executive made copies and has released the album to the public.
“The album was supposed to constitute the sole existing copy of the record, music, data and files, and packaging,” the suit claims. “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.”
The suit alleges Shkreli recently admitted on social media that he has multiple copies and has played the album for people online after PleasrDAO posted a photo of the project on X, formerly known as Twitter, in April.
“LOL i have the mp3s you moron,” he reportedly tweeted. “I literally play it in my discord all the time. you’re an idiot.”
PleasrDAO argues that Shkreli has gained unjust enrichment through the promotion of his ill-gotten Wu-Tang Clan music files and are asking for an inventory of the files that Shkreli has, the seizure of his copies and monetary damages.
Shkreli has since reacted to the lawsuit on social media.
“These super nerds are suing me the least crypto ethos, whitest, least culturally relevant dorks good luck!” he tweeted on Tuesday (June 11).
“It was literally allowed. It was their lack of diligence that is astonishing,” he added in another post.
Read More: 40 of the Best Hip-Hop Album Covers From the 1990s
Who Is Martin Shkreli?
Martin Shkreli made millions as a pharmaceutical executive and is infamous for raising the price of the lifesaving drug Daraprim 5500%. Two years after the purchase of the rare Wu-Tang album, he was convicted of committing securities fraud and sentenced to seven years in prison. In 2021, the U.S. government confiscated the album and later sold it to satisfy Shkreli’s debts.
On June 8, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin was played publicly for an exhibition at Australia’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). The album rights stipulate it can be played at private listening events but can’t be sold commercially until 2109.
Read More: Funkmaster Flex Apologizes to Wu-Tang Clan for Nearly 25-Year-Old Beef
Check out video of the rare unreleased album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin album below.
See the Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin Album
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