The FBI's New York office confirmed that it did not seize the one-of-a-kind $2 million Wu-Tang Clan album when agents arrested Martin Shkreli for alleged securities fraud this week.
The feds tweeted as much on Thursday, likely responding to hip-hop fans who wanted to know what happened to the rare print of "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin," which Shkreli reportedly bought at auction.
Shkreli was vaulted into the headlines earlier this year when he purchased a life-saving pharmaceutical drug and raised its price from $13.50 to $750 a pill. The drug, decades old, is often used to treat infections that can be highly dangerous to babies and people with AIDS.
"Those price increases combined with Mr. Shkreli’s jeering response to his critics has made him a lightning rod for public outrage and fodder for the presidential campaign,"
The New York Times reported.
"His company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, and others, like Valeant Pharmaceuticals, have come under fire from lawmakers and consumers for profiting from steep price increases for old drugs."
After Shkreli made headlines for hiking drug prices, he was soon revealed as the secret buyer of rap group Wu-Tang Clan's latest album, of which only one copy exists. He reportedly bought it at auction for $2 million earlier this year, thinking that he could arrange private listening sessions that would allow him to hang out with celebrities.
Shkreli was arraigned Thursday on securities fraud and wire fraud charges, and federal agents described his alleged misdeeds as a quasi-Ponzi scheme.
One agent called it a "securities fraud trifecta of lies, deceit, and greed."
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