Martin Shkreli May Have Paid $2 Million for a Wu-Tang Album That Isn't Actually a Wu-Tang Album

Since winning Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin with a $2 million bid in an auction two years ago, Martin Shkreli has done just about everything to remind us that he's the one in possession of the most expensive album ever sold. 

After promising to release the album if Donald Trump won the presidential election last November, Shkreli played a few snippets during a live stream. In one of the clips on a YouTube account called "Best of Martin Shkreli," ten minutes of Shaolin is playingin the background of an interview. But, in a surprising twist, two people linked to the Wu-Tang Clan told Bloomberg through their respective managers that the 31-track double CD in Shkreli's possession may not really be a Wu-Tang album. 

“It’s not an authorized Wu-Tang Clan album,” Domingo Neris, manager of rapper U-God, claimed. "It never was.” Method Man's manager James Ellis also questioned whether Shaolin was a true Wu-Tang album. "When we did the verses, it was for a Cilvaringz album," he said. "How it became a Wu-Tang album from there? We have no knowledge of that."

Killa Sin, a member of Wu-Tang's extended family, recalls recording sessions with producer Cilvaringz in New York, but he never got the impression that he was working on a Wu-Tang album. "The way he presented it was it was going to be basically his album, and he wanted me to do some work for him," Killa Sin said. 

With so many people questioning the validity of the $2 million album, Shkreli must have heard it back to front in order to confirm that what he spent so much money on was the real deal, right? Well, when he put the album on eBay earlier this month, Shkreli wrote in the description, "I have not carefully listened to the album."

[via COMPLEX]

Enter the FBI: Here’s What’ll Happen to Martin Shkreli’s Wu-Tang Album

Ever since the news broke Thursday that Turing pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli had been arrested and charged with fraud, the Internet has been abuzz with the big question his arrest naturally raises: What will happen to the new Wu-Tang Clan album?

If Shkreli is ultimately found guilty, the next stop for the sole copy of the legendary hip-hop group’sOnce Upon a Time in Shaolin is likely the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the U.S. Marshals Service – that is, assuming he hasn’t destroyed or hidden it.

But with Shkreli facing a seven-count indictment for defrauding investors in his hedge fund, the status of the album may soon become a little clearer.

The final element in the 29-page indictment of Shkreli is what’s known as a “criminal forfeiture allegation.” It informs the accused that in the event of a conviction, the government will seek a court order forfeiting “any property, real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable” to crimes committed by the defendant.

Unless Shkreli can somehow prove that the millions he spent on the money is unconnected to the funds named in the indictment, that property will probably include Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.

Assuming Shkreli is able to make bail, he will probably have time to listen to the album if he wants to. Under federal law, except in special cases, criminal asset forfeiture can only take place after someone is convicted of a crime and a judge declares the property forfeit. In addition, the indictment does not name specific things it means to seize in the event Shkreli is found guilty – something the government will have to do in advance of any action to take his property.

It’s possible that Shkreli’s assets could be frozen in advance of a conviction, but there is no indication in the indictment that the government is seeking an asset freeze.

If Shkreli is convicted, the U.S. Marshals Service would take control of the named property, presumably including the album, and would be put in charge of selling it off, most likely at auction, to the highest bidder. The Marshals Service manages more than $2 billion in seized assets at any given time, conducting auctions all around the country of everything from car to jewelry to furniture.

But Wu-Tang Clan fans hoping that a repentant Shkreli might get out on bail and release the album to generate some goodwill are probably out of luck. The album is only worth what it’s worth because of its rarity, and releasing it at this point would destroy that value.

The forfeiture count in the indictment notes that the government will go after other property, unrelated to the proceeds of criminal activity, if those proceeds are “substantially diminished in value.”

So until Shkreli gets locked up or acquitted, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin will probably remain figuratively locked up in his possession for the foreseeable future.

[via YAHOO]

You’ll Never Hear the New Wu-Tang Clan Album, But This Is What It Sounds Like

If you haven't yet heard Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, the final album by the Wu-Tang Clan, it's too late. Last night, the RZA exhibited the album for the first and last time in front of a crowd of about 150 art collectors, dealers, and critics (and four radio contest winners) in an outdoor dome adjacent to the MoMa PS1 in Queens.

The Abott and producer Cilvaringz played 13 minutes of selections from the album and spoke to the crowd about plans to auction off the album to the highest bidder. But before the record could be heard, those hoping to even glimpse at the box had all electronic devices confiscated and were patted down by security to ensure no recordings could be made.

Read more… via COMPLEX