Martin Shkreli copied the unique album of the Wu-Tang Clan: Lawsuit

The complaint was filed by the cryptocurrency collective PleasrDAO, which purchased a one-of-a-kind album from Shkreli in 2021

Infamous “pharmadouche” Martin Shkreli was accused of copying and distributing the one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album Once upon a time in Shaolin made public in a lawsuit filed by its current owner, the cryptocurrency collective PleasrDAO.

Shkreli bought it Once upon a time in Shaolin for $2 million in 2015, but was ordered to forfeit it to the federal government as part of a $7.4 million asset forfeiture stemming from a 2017 fraud conviction. PleasrDAO then acquired the album in 2021 for the cryptocurrency equivalent of $4 million.

According to the lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Brooklyn, Shkreli has live-streamed the album multiple times since his release from prison in May 2022, including a Spaces session on Twitter last Sunday that he called his “official listening party.”

“I was playing it on YouTube one night even though someone paid $4 million for it,” Shkreli allegedly admitted on a livestream a month after being released from prison. The lawsuit also alleges that he bragged about copying the album on another stream.

“Of course I made MP3 copies, they’re kind of hidden in safes all over the world,” Shkreli allegedly said. “I’m not stupid. I don’t buy something for two million dollars just to keep one copy.

As a result of these actions, Shkreli was charged with violating both the original sale agreement and the forfeiture order. PleasrDAO wants the court to order Shkreli to destroy his copy of the album and hand over any money he made from sharing it. The group is also seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

After the lawsuit was filed, Shkreli responded by trolling PleasrDAO on social media. “PleasrDAO has never voted on or discussed this dispute with members,” he wrote on Twitter. “You will easily lose this legal impairment. Plesr members do not support this homosexuality. See you in court!”

PleasrDAO legal action is just ahead Once upon a time in Shaolin played publicly as part of an exhibition at the Museum of Old and New Art in Australia.