Judge orders ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli to surrender all copies of rare Wu-Tang Clan album

A New York federal judge on Monday ordered notorious “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli to surrender any copy he retains of a rare Wu-Tang Clan album, “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” which he previously forfeited to the U.S. government after being convicted of securities fraud in 2017.

The order came in response to a lawsuit by the one-of-a-kind album’s owner, PleasrDAO, which accused him of retaining digital copies of the hip-hop rarity and playing it online for listeners in violation of the forfeiture order.

PleasrDAO, a Cayman Islands-based company, had paid $4.75 million for “Once Upon a Time Shaolin” in two separate transactions in 2021 and 2024.

Brooklyn federal court Judge Pamela Chen last month barred Shkreli, who was released from prison two years ago, from streaming or disseminating the album.

Chen on Friday held a hearing on a preliminary injunction request by PleasrDAO.

In a written order Monday, Chen wrote that the company had raised “sufficiently serious questions going to the merits of its claims” against Shkreli for violating the Defend Trade Secrets Act, misappropriation of trade secrets and unjust enrichment.

The order bars Shkreli from possessing the album or its contents, and that by Friday he turn over any copies of it that he now has.

Chen also ordered him by Sept. 30 to “file an inventory and account” signed by Shkreli detailing “the nature and volume of the copies of the Album’s data and files that Defendant retained; (ii) the names and contact information of the individuals to whom he distributed the data and files; (iii) the date and method of such distribution; and (iv) the amounts, source, date, and nature of any proceeds, revenues, profits, or other financial benefits made by Defendant from his distribution or playing of the Album or its contents.”

Chen’s order will remain in effect pending the outcome of PleasrDAO’s lawsuit.

Shkreli’s lawyer Edward Paltzik, in a statement to CNBC, said, “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.”

“Crucially, the Court did not find that PleasrDAO is likely to succeed on the merits or that the DAO’s allegations are true, and instead ruled that Mr. Shkreli’s forthcoming motion to dismiss should proceed without delay,” Paltzik said.

Steven Cooper, the Reed Smith lawyer who represents PleasrDAO in its suit, in a statement said that Chen’s ruling “is an important victory for” the company.

“We are pleased that Judge Chen recognized that immediate relief was necessary to thwart the continuing bad acts of Mr. Shkreli,” Cooper said.

Shkreli, 41, was convicted in 2017 in Brooklyn federal court of crimes related to misleading investors about the performance of two hedge funds he ran and to conspiring to fraudulently manipulate shares of a drug company he founded.

He was released from prison in May 2022. As part of his criminal sentence, Shkreli was ordered to forfeit nearly $7.4 million to the U.S. government and to surrender a set of assets, including “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” to satisfy that order.

Shkreli gained national infamy in 2015 by hiking the price of the anti-parasite drug Daraprim overnight by more than 4,000% at another pharma firm he operated. The drug is used to treat pregnant women, babies and people with HIV.

Shkreli was banned from the pharmaceuticals industry for life and ordered to pay more than $64 million in disgorged profits for blocking competition to Daraprim as the result of a lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission.