The Justice Department on Tuesday announced it sold a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album seized from former pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli to clear an amount he owed for his conviction on charges of security fraud.<\/b>
\nJuly 27 (UPI) — The Justice Department on Tuesday said it sold a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album previously owned by former pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli. The department did not reveal the identity of the person who purchased the album, titled Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, or the selling price but said the proceeds were applied to a $7.4 million judgment against Shkreli and that the amount had been cleared. \u00ab\u00a0Through the diligent and persistent efforts of this office and its law enforcement partners, Shkreli has been held accountable and paid the price for lying and stealing from investors to enrich himself,\u00a0\u00bb said Jacquelyn Kasulis, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. \u00ab\u00a0With today’s sale of this one-of-a-kind album, his payment of the forfeiture is now complete.\u00a0\u00bb The album was seized as a substitute asset as part of the judgment against Shkreli after he was convicted on three counts related to securities fraud in 2018. Shkreli purchased the album at an auction for $2 million in 2015 but his lawyer said it was \u00ab\u00a0probably worthless\u00a0\u00bb when the court ordered that he forfeit his assets. The album includes a hand-carved nickel-silver box, leather-bound manuscript containing lyrics, certificate of authenticity and descriptions of restrictions regarding the duplication of the recordings. Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted on charges he ran a Ponzi scheme from 2009 to 2014 and bilked investors out of $11 million after his company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, hiked the price of HIV medication Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 per tablet.<\/p>\n