DOJ Punishes Martin Shkreli By Selling His Wu-Tang Album

The sole copy of an exclusive Wu-Tang Clan album, once owned by former pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli, has officially been sold.

According to The Hill, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on July 20 that Once Upon A Time In Shaolin has a new owner. However, the price and the buyer were not disclosed.

Jacquelyn Kasulis, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a release, “Through the diligent and persistent efforts of this Office and its law enforcement partners, Shkreli has been held accountable and paid the price for lying and stealing from investors to enrich himself. With today’s sale of this one-of-a-kind album, his payment of the forfeiture is now complete.”

Skhreli, the former hedge fund manager and pharmaceutical business investor, originally made headlines for raising the price of the HIV/AIDS drug Daraprim from $13.50 a pill to $750. It later led him into legal troubles, embroiling him in shady and fraudulent business dealings.

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In 2018, a judge sentenced him to seven years in prison for defrauding investors in two failed hedge funds. Formally, he was charged and convicted with securities fraud and his sentence.

Martin Shkreli’s sentencing came days after he was ordered to relinquish both the one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon A Time In Shaolin as well as Lil Wayne’s unreleased project, Tha Carter V.

Judge Matsumoto ruled on March 5 that in order to help pay off a $7.36 million forfeiture for securities fraud, Shkreli will have to give up several assets. Aside from the Wu and Wayne LPs, Shkreli also had to cash in his E-Trade brokerage account, his stake in the drug company Vyera Pharmaceuticals, and a painting by Pablo Picasso.