Judge orders ‘Pharma Bro’ to forfeit $7.3M in fraud case
NEW YORK — “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli will have to forfeit more than $7.3 million in assets that include his one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album as part of his punishment in his securities fraud case, a judge ruled Monday.
U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto issued the order against the jailed Shkreli four days before he is to face sentencing for his conviction last year on charges he cheated wealthy investors in two failed hedge funds he was managing.
Along with the Wu-Tang Clan “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” album that Shkreli has boasted he bought for $2 million, he would have to give up $5 million in cash in a brokerage account. He also would be forced to forfeit other valuables including a Picasso painting and another unreleased recording that he claims he owns, “Tha Carter V” by Lil Wayne.
The judge said the assets won’t be seized until Shkreli has a chance to appeal. His lawyer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.