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

June 11, 2024 | 5:00pm ET

Infamous “pharmadouche” Martin Shkreli has been accused of copying and distributing Wu-Tang Clan’s one-of-a-kind album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin to the public in a lawsuit filed by its current owner, the cryptocurrency collective PleasrDAO.

Shkreli purchased Once Upon a Time in Shaolin for $2 million in 2015, but was ordered to hand it over to the federal government as part of a $7.4 million assets forfeiture following his 2017 fraud conviction. PleasrDAO then acquired the album in 2021 for the crypto equivalent of $4 million.

According to the lawsuit, filed in Brooklyn federal court on Monday, Shkreli has livestreamed the album multiple times since being released early from prison in May 2022, including a Spaces session on Twitter this past Sunday that he called an “official listening party.”

“I was playing it on YouTube the other night even though somebody paid $4 million for it,” Shkreli allegedly admitted on a livestream one month after his prison release. The lawsuit also claims he boasted about making copies of the album in another stream.

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

Due to these actions, Shkreli has been accused of violating both the original purchase agreement and the forfeiture order. PleasrDAO wants the court to order Shkreli to destroy his copies of the album and turn 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 never voted or discussed this litigation with members,” he wrote on Twitter. “You will easily lose this legal retardation. The pleasr members don’t support this gayness. See you in court!”

PleasrDAO’s legal action comes just ahead of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin being played to the public as part of an exhibit at the Museum of Old and New Art in Australia.