In a fresh twist to the saga of the Wu-Tang Clan’s unique album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, PleasrDAO has filed a lawsuit against the infamous “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli.
In the 19 page lawsuit filed on June 10, 2024 in the Eastern District of New York and obtained by WMV, PleasrDAO, a decentralized collective of cryptocurrency enthusiasts, claims Shkreli failed to deliver crucial components of the album’s full ownership, specifically the authentication certificate and other related materials.
These elements are essential for PleasrDAO to establish the complete and verifiable ownership of the album.
The suit also claims, “tortious interference with prospective economic advantage; unjust enrichment; and recovery of chattel/replevin.”
The album, celebrated for being the only one of its kind, was initially purchased by Shkreli for $2 million in 2015. Known for his controversial tenure in the pharmaceutical industry, Shkreli gained notoriety after his company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, hiked the price of the life-saving drug Daraprim by over 5,000%. This move led to his conviction for securities fraud in 2017 and a subsequent prison sentence of seven years and a lifetime ban from the pharmaceutical industry.
This ban and a $64.6 million fine were imposed due to his illegal and anti-competitive actions, which were described as “egregious, deliberate, repetitive, long-running and ultimately dangerous” by the court.
As part of his sentencing, Shkreli was ordered to forfeit several assets, including the Wu-Tang Clan album. The U.S. government facilitated the sale of the album to PleasrDAO “in two transactions in 2021 and 2024, for approximately $4,000,000, and $750,000, respectively.” However, the lawsuit alleges that Shkreli retained essential parts of the album’s proof of authenticity, thus compromising PleasrDAO’s ownership rights.
The lawsuit’s claims include violations of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, misappropriation of confidential information, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage, unjust enrichment, and recovery of chattel (replevin). PleasrDAO argues that without the necessary documents and materials, their ownership of the album remains incomplete and vulnerable.
The PleasrDAO lawsuit adds another chapter to the storied history of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, a project designed to be both a high art piece and a critique of the music industry’s commercialization.
In the suit PleasrDAO is explained as an exempted foundation company established in the Cayman Islands.
Both Shkreli and PleasrDAO had a heated discussion on X on Tuesday.
The album was created as a “protest to what Wuntang saw as the devaluation of music in the digital era.” The suit claims that “unlike conventional commercial album releases, Wu-Tang produced only one copy of the Album. That copy has never been publicly released”
