In 2017, Martin Shkreli, the former executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, was convicted of securities fraud. Shkreli gained notoriety for raising the price of the drug Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 per tablet. As part of his sentence, he had to forfeit $7.4 million, pay a $750,000 fine, and serve seven years in prison.
What’s intriguing is how the Department of Justice dealt with Shkreli’s forfeiture. Unable to pay the full amount, the DOJ seized valuable assets from Shkreli, including the sole copy of the Wu-Tang Clan’s “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” album.
This album, a unique creation, is housed in a hand-crafted nickel-silver box and contains a leather-bound manuscript of lyrics and a certificate of authenticity. The Wu-Tang Clan intended for this album to be both a piece of art and a musical treasure, setting it apart from conventional releases.
Shkreli acquired the album for approximately $2 million in 2015, and it was confiscated by the DOJ in 2018. Recently, the album was sold by the government to cover Shkreli’s debts. The buyer’s identity and the purchase price remain undisclosed, but it’s evident that acquiring this rare piece did not come cheap.
“Shkreli has faced consequences for his deceitful actions and financial misconduct,” stated Jacquelyn Kasulis, the acting US attorney.
A one-of-a-kind album by the Wu-Tang Clan, which Martin Shkreli paid $2 million for at auction, has been sold by the U.S. to cover the debt that the disgraced pharmaceutical executive owed the government. https://t.co/2Togwkqmuw
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 27, 2021
