Martin Shkreli’s Wu Tang album to be seized by US federal officials

Federal officials are forcing Martin Shkreli to give up the rights to his exclusive $2 million dollar Wu Tang album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.

In August, Shkreli was convicted on two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. The convictions were found in connection with Shkreli’s biotech company, as well as two hedge funds that the thirty-four-year-old ran.

Shkreli is currently being held on $5 million bail at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Correctional Center awaiting his appearance in court. CNBC reports that Shkreli’s attorney, Ben Brafman, says he’ll “vigorously oppose the government motion.”

“Our position is clear,” said Brafman in a prepared statement on Friday. “None of the investors lost any money and Martin did not personally benefit from any of the counts of conviction. Accordingly, forfeiture of any assets is not an appropriate remedy.”

Prosecutors, on the other hand, believe that Shkreli gained access to “funds he would not have had but for his criminal offenses.”

Prosecutors have tallied $3 million for fraud at the hedge fund MSMB Capital, $3.4 million at MSMB Healthcare, and $960,000 for Shkreli’s conviction on conspiracy to commit securities fraud. “These funds were, in essence, the life blood that fueled the fraud scheme,” prosecutors wrote.

Shkreli’s efforts to sell the album as a piece of art, rather than simply release it to the public, were near-universally reviled by the music community, especially considering Shkreli’s dubious moral background.

Shkreli is scheduled to be sentenced on January 16th, 2018. Considering the evidence, he might want to protect his neck.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Source: CNBC

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