PleasrDAO, the group that owns the unique Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, is suing Martin Shkreli for sharing it online without permission.
The lawsuit, filed on June 10 in Brooklyn, details how Shkreli bought the album for $2 million in 2015. That same year he got arrested and was found guilty of fraud in 2017. He went to prison for seven years and had to give up nearly $7.4 million in assets, including the Wu-Tang album. While he was still serving time, PleasrDAO purchased the album for $4 million in 2022.
The court order requires Shkreli to keep all his forfeited assets, like this album, safe and undamaged. But PleasrDAO claims he’s broken these rules by copying and playing it publicly—something he’s admitted to doing even just before they filed their lawsuit.
Shkreli tweeted on X about PleasrDAO blocking him and said he would play the album anyway: X.
PleasrDAO says that sharing the music with everyone ruins its value and hurts their reputation. They also accuse Shkreli of benefiting unfairly from promoting these files.
I think it’s kind of wild how much trouble one album can cause!
PleasrDAO wants a list of all copies Shkreli has made, to take those copies away from him, damages paid, and more.
Shkreli has been making fun of PleasrDAO on X while defending what he did.
Starting Saturday at Australia’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), Once Upon a Time in Shaolin will be played publicly as part of an exhibition. The contract says it can’t be sold until 2109 but allows private events like this one .
