United States hedge fund investor Martin Shkreli has been arrested for defrauding investors. Prosecutors last Thursday asked Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto to seize $7.4 million in assets from Shkreli. The government said they wanted to keep the $5 million that Shkreli paid in bail, and take a few other assets. These assets include a World War II Enigma machine, a copy of Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter V” (set to release later this month), a Picasso painting and last but certainly not least, the only copy of the Wu-Tang Clan’s double album “Once upon a time in Shaolin”.
The album was sold to Shkreli at auction in 2015 for roughly $2 million, making the album the single most expensive album ever sold.
After rumors surfaced of the federal government having seized this highly elusive Wu-Tang album, Expressions wanted to ask some San Luis Obispo High School students about what they thought the government should do with this album.
Expressions: Have you heard of the “Once upon a time in Shaolin” album?
Senior Sean Anderson: Yes, I️ have followed the Shkreli case.
Freshman Nick Overby: No, I have not.
Expressions: What do you think the Federal Government should do with the seized album?
Anderson: They should release the album to the public. Wu-Tang is for the kids, let the kids have the music!
Overby: I don’t know much about Wu-Tang or Shkreli, but I think they should release the album to the public.
Expressions: Do you think the album will ever be released to the public?
Anderson: Unless [President] Donald [Trump] wants to bump it in the oval office, I don’t see why they would keep the album for themselves.
Overby: It’s possible, but I doubt it.
Expressions: What do you think the album will be about?
Anderson: I think the album is going to be about the Wu-Tang members’ life after their popularity in the 90s.
Senior Evan DoI: I think it’s going to be very similar to Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” project that also released in 2015.
Expressions: Is Shkreli finally getting what he deserves?
Anderson: I don’t think he deserves to go to prison, but the fines are a good start.
Doi: Yes, I want to hear this album.