'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli ordered to hand over copies of Wu-Tang Clan's unreleased album

An unreleased album by legendary hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan had been owned by former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli since 2015, but a recent order by a federal judge will require the "Pharma Bro" to hand over all copies and refrain from streaming any content from the record.

Shkreli bought Wu-Tang Clan's "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin" at an auction for around $2 million, federal court records show. In 2017, a jury found Shkreli guilty of securities fraud charges stemming from a federal indictment alleging that he ran his company like a Ponzi scheme and defrauded numerous investors.

Due to the conviction, Shkreli was ordered in 2018 to forfeit nearly $7.4 million in assets. The government would sell the single copy 31-track double album in 2021 to cryptocurrency collective, PleasrDAO, for $4.75 million, according to federal court documents.

PleasrDAO sued Shkreli in June and claimed he improperly retained copies of the data and files from the "one-of-a-kind album" so he could release them to the public, the complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York says.

U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen sided with PleasrDAO on Monday and ordered Shkreli to "turn over all of his copies, in any form, of the album or its contents to defense counsel," according to the federal judgment. She also ordered that Shkreli report the names of anyone he gave the album to by Sept. 30, along with any revenues he received from its illicit distribution.

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“Today’s ruling by the Court is an important victory for our client, PleasrDAO, who owns the exclusive rights to the one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album 'Once Upon A Time in Shaolin' that Martin Shkreli was supposed to have forfeited," Steven Cooper, an attorney for PleasrDAO, said in a statement emailed to USA TODAY. "We are pleased that Judge Chen recognized that immediate relief was necessary to thwart the continuing bad acts of Mr. Shkreli.”

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'The order has no bearing whatsoever'

Attorneys for Shkreli, who was released from prison in May 2022 after serving 4 years of his initial 7-year sentence, told USA TODAY on Tuesday that the 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," Edward Paltzik, one of Shkreli's defense attorneys, said. "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."

What is Wu-Tang Clan's 'Once Upon a Time in Shaolin?'

The Wu-Tang Clan spent six years creating "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin," which was sold in a hand-carved, nickel and silver-cased box set comprised of three integrated nickel and silver boxes. The entire album was also housed in a large leather box designed by British Moroccan artist Yahya.

In addition to the single, two-disc set, the album came with a 174-page leather-bound manuscript containing lyrics, credits and anecdotes on the production and recordings of each song.

The Wu-Tang Clan crafted the record the way they did as a protest to what they believed was a devaluation of music in this current digital era. Shkreli originally had the only copy of the album due to it never being released publicly.

'It was in the wrong hands in reality'

In a 2021 interview with hip-hop radio station Hot 97, RZA, the founder of the Wu-Tang Clan, admitted that he regretted selling the album to Shkreli.

“It was in the wrong hands in reality," RZA said. "He made the deal before it was revealed of his character, his personality, and all of the insidious things he would go on to do. That wasn’t the guy I met, but he definitely unfolded into that guy.”

RZA added that while the group's initial plans to hold museum exhibits and listening parties under Shkreli's ownership never developed, he is hoping that PleasrDAO will share the album with fans in some capacity. The music producer also said he spoke to "one of the gentlemen" with PleasrDAO and thought he had "more of a Wu vibe."

 Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at JLimehouse@gannett.com