Martin Shkreli, the infamous “Pharma-Bro” convicted of security fraud in 2017, has responded to a recent lawsuit filed against him over Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. On Tuesday (June 11), the company suing him, PleasrDAO, tweeted about its intention to allow as many Wu-Tang fans as possible to finally hear the nearly-mythical album.

“Our master plan is to release the music to the public in a way that honors the Wu-Tang Clan and gets them paid while circumventing the streaming oligopoly,” the company wrote. “Every action we are taking is in service of that mission.”

The company believes Shkreli made a copy of the one-of-a-kind album and is suing him for the alleged breach. Shkreli quickly fired back, “e#########, they got paid, multiple times.”

Our master plan is to release the music to the public in a way that honors the Wu-Tang Clan and gets them paid while circumventing the streaming oligopoly; every action we are taking is in service of that mission.

— ✨ Pleasr (@PleasrDAO) June 11, 2024

According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, PleasrDAO—the current owner of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin—accuses Shkreli of violating a forfeiture order and diminishing the project’s value.

“The album was supposed to constitute the sole existing copy of the record, music, data and files and packaging,” PleasrDAO’s lawyers wrote. “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.”

PleasrDAO cited several examples of Shkreli, who bought the album in 2015, admitting to copying the album on social media. Following his 2017 conviction, he was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to forfeit $7.4 million in 2018. The Wu-Tang album was used to to partially satisfy the forfeiture money judgment.

Fans willing to fly to Australia have a chance to hear the album. The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart acquired the album on loan from PleasrDAO for exhibition “Namedropping,” which aims to “explore status, celebrity and notoriety.”

MONA will hold free, ticketed listening sessions from June 15-24, where members of the public can hear a “curated” 30-minute mix of the album, played from a personalized Wu-Tang PlayStation 1 inside MONA’s recording studio, Frying Pan.

Part of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin was also available to hear in New York City on June 8—now it’s heading Down Under.

A company has sued convicted felon Martin Shkreli for copying Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin album, which he was forced to forfeit due to his legal woes. According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, PleasrDAO—the current owner of Wu-Tang’s rare album—accused the infamous “Pharma Bro” of violating a forfeiture order and diminishing the project’s value.

“The album was supposed to constitute the sole existing copy of the record, music, data and files and packaging,” PleasrDAO’s lawyers wrote. “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.”

PleasrDAO cited several examples of Shkreli bragging about copying the album on social media. Shkreli bought the album in 2015, two years before he was found guilty of securities fraud charges. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to forfeit $7.4 million in 2018. Shkreli gave up the Wu-Tang album to partially satisfy the forfeiture money judgment.

Shkreli was released from prison in 2022. The disgraced hedge fund manager claimed he kept MP3s of the Wu-Tang album and only “sold the plastic.”

“By his own admission, Shkreli retained copies of the album’s data and
files, played the album publicly on his ‘live stream’ and has sent it to at least 50 people,” PleasrDAO’s attorneys wrote. “His comments demonstrate that he is also willing to disseminate copies of the album’s data and files publicly, and that as many as ‘> 5,000 individuals’ may have already heard the album as a result of his actions.

“These actions occurred after he was ordered to forfeit his interests in the album. Shkreli therefore violated the Forfeiture Order’s provisions requiring Shkreli to forfeit his interests in the album and prohibiting him from taking any action that would reduce the album’s value.”

PleasrDAO bought Once Upon a Time in Shaolin for $4.75 million. The company sued Shkreli for misappropriation of confidential information, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage and unjust enrichment, among other claims. PleasrDAO sought damages and an order to seize Shkreli’s copies of the Wu-Tang album.