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Martin Shkreli Faces New Lawsuit Over Wu-Tang Clan Album Artwork

The ex-pharma CEO is being sued by an artist who claims his original illustrations were stolen for the new Wu-Tang Clan album that Shkreli bought.
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Martin Shkreli's legal woes are mounting.

The vilified ex-pharmaceuticals CEO is being sued by a New York artist who claims his original illustrations were swiped for the new Wu-Tang Clan album that Shkreli bought at auction for $2 million. The artist is also suing a member of the hip-hop group.

In a copyright infringement lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, Jason Koza said he submitted nine portraits of the Wu-Tang's members to a website, WuDisciples.blogspot.com, about two years ago. He thought the drawings would be featured on the site itself.

Related: 'Pharma Bro' Shkreli Invokes the Fifth Before Congress

"Mr. Koza was happy when his work appeared on the website," the complaint said. "Mr. Koza never granted a license for his works to be copied or displayed anywhere (else)."

But Koza, 34, said a Vice article published last month about the album revealed artwork included with the album's leather-bound book — artwork that mirrored his own.

The Wu-Tang Clan produced and sold only one copy of its limited-edition "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin." Under the terms of the auction deal, Shkreli can't "commercialize" it for 88 years.

Peter Scoolidge, an attorney for Koza, said his client never gave permission for any of his sketches to be used by the group, and only expected it to appear on the WuDisciples website.

"Although we’re sure that three of his works appear in the book, we have reason to believe there are others, and the investigation is ongoing," Scoolidge told NBC News.

According to Koza's complaint, Shkreli infringed on his rights by "permitting at least three of the nine Wu-Tang Clan Portraits to be displayed to the public in a news article without Mr. Koza’s permission or license."

Shkreli — once dubbed the "bad boy" of the pharmaceuticals industry — is already facing federal securities fraud charges and is accused of running a Ponzi-like scheme through the companies he founded, which he has denied.

Besides Shkreli, Koza is suing Wu-Tang Clan's de facto leader, Robert "RZA" Diggs, as well as producer Tarik "Cilvaringz" Azzougarh and Paddle8, the online auction house that the Wu-Tang Clan hired to handle the album transaction.

Scoolidge said it's too early to determine damages against the defendants.

Shkreli's attorney, Benjamin Brafman, and reps for the Wu-Tang Clan did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Paddle8 declined to comment when reached by NBC News.

Shkreli, who continues to stay active on social media, didn't immediately respond Tuesday to the lawsuit on his Twitter account.

He did, however, tweet in response to an ongoing feud with Wu-Tang member Ghostface Killah, who voiced his displeasure when he learned Shkreli was the buyer of the group's new album.

"The format of your apology was unacceptable, @GhostfaceKillah," Shkreli wrote. "The consequences will never be the same."