Judge orders Martin Shkreli to give up Wu-Tang album, even though he supposedly sold it

By Sam Barsanti | March 5, 2018 | 8:50pm

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As threatened back in December, judge Kiyo Matsuomoto has ordered annoying rich jerk (or maybe formerly rich jerk) Martin Shkreli to forfeit $7.36 million to the federal government as part of his fraud conviction—a sum that’s separate from any fines, penalties, or restitutions Shkreli may be ordered to pay once he’s finally sentenced on Friday. The government is already set to take $5 million in cash, which Shkreli initially used to pay for his bond before a deranged request for some of Hillary Clinton’s hair got him tossed back in prison, and it will make up the rest of the $7.36 million by taking some of Shkreli’s stupidly valuable possessions, a collection that reportedly includes Lil’ Wayne’s unreleased album Tha Carter V, a Picasso painting, and a real WWII-era Enigma machine.

Interestingly, the government has also asked Shkreli to hand over Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, the one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album that he bought in 2015 for $2 million. The request is understandable, since it’s easily Shkreli’s most famous asset, but he supposedly sold it on eBay last September for $1 million after he was sent to prison. It’s possible he does still have it, in which case the government will soon have it, but if not he’ll have to make up that money with some other ridiculous thing he owns. Surely he has, like, the fossilized remains of the first-ever giraffe laying around somewhere? That would be worth something.