Martin Shkreli Will Have to Testify About How Many Copies of Rare Wu-Tang Album Might Be Out There

Martin Shkreli will have to return to court next month to testify about the number of copies he allegedly made and distributed of the supposedly one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.  

The order was handed down last Friday in the ongoing legal dispute between the convicted pharmaceutical executive and PleasrDAO, the digital art collective that purchased the album from Shkreli in 2021. Shkreli, the original purchaser of the rare LP, was ordered to sell Once Upon a Time as part of a $7.4 million forfeiture tied to his 2017 fraud conviction. In a lawsuit filed earlier this year, PleasrDAO accused Shkreli of violating the original purchase agreement and forfeiture order by making and retaining digital copies of the album, playing it during his live streams, and sending it to others. 

In August, Shkreli was ordered to hand over all of his copies (digital or otherwise) of the album. And while he complied, he also filed a sworn statement admitting that while he turned in all of his copies of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, it was “highly likely” that other people had copies as well, and Shkreli couldn’t remember who.

PleasrDAO’s lawyers took issue with this, claiming in a letter to Judge Pamela K. Chen that Shkreli’s statement “raises doubts” as to whether he actually “made a good faith effort to comply” with the order. Chen was swayed, ordering Shkreli to appear in court to “resolve the deficiencies” in his affidavits and have him “testify under oath regarding the copying and distribution of the Album’s tracks.” The hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 5 at 11 a.m. ET. 
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In a statement shared with Rolling Stone, PleasrDAO’s lawyer, Steven Cooper, said, “We are pleased that Judge Chen scheduled an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Martin Shkreli has been totally forthcoming about whether he has diligently searched for, and turned over, all copies of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.”

Lawyers for Shkreli did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment.