New York Daily News

Wu-Dang! Bro’s millions seized

- BY ANDREW KESHNER

MARTIN SHKRELI got smacked with a $7.36 million forfeiture order Monday — a ruling that puts a serious dent in the Pharma Bro’s prized hip hop collection.

Days ahead of Shkreli’s sentencing for his securities fraud conviction, Brooklyn Federal Judge Kiyo Matsumoto said she was putting him on the hook for millions and letting the feds latch onto his “substitute assets” if he can’t pay up.

Prosecutor­s say pricey possession­s the include Shkreli’s single-edition album of “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” by the Wu-Tang Clan, Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter V” and a Picasso painting.

Shkreli reportedly paid $2 million for the coveted Wu-Tang cuts. The substitute assets also include a $5 million brokerage account.

Shkreli fought against forfeiture, noting his hedge fund investors all turned profits in the end.

Matsumoto wasn’t buying it. She pointed to Shkreli’s trial last summer, when prosecutor­s unveiled evidence showing that before those rich returns, Shkreli was feeding investors all sorts of bogus data.

In a hearing last month, Matsumoto asked prosecutor­s if they had a valuation on the albums. Assistant U.S. Attorney Claire Kedeshian said she didn’t yet.

Matsumoto signed off Monday on a 10-day deadline for Shkreli to tell authoritie­s where the albums and painting are located.

Shkreli, who has been jailed since September, is set to be sentenced Friday.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States