"Origami condom" inventor Daniel Resnic has said that he must pay back taxpayer funds to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
In emails obtained by the Free Beacon, Resnic, who received more than $2.4 million to develop the so-called origami condoms, states that he is in the process of working on a repayment plan for at least some of the grant funding he received.
Resnic also recently lost in court, as a lawsuit he filed against a former employee was thrown out last week. Two lawyers had dropped Resnic, and the second of the two attorneys, Martin J. Kaufman, cited an "irreparable breakdown of the attorney-client relationship," asserting that Resnic refused to pay or cooperate.
The idea of the origami condom—a non-rolled, silicone-based condom designed to "increase pleasure"—was approved by the NIH, and Resnic received grants to create his condoms in male, female, and anal versions.
While Resnic claims that the male condom will hit the market this year, a former employee is accusing him of massive fraud.
The employee alleged that Resnic misspent millions of taxpayer dollars on trips to Costa Rica, lavish parties at the Playboy mansion, full-body plastic surgery, a condo in Provincetown, Mass., and patents for numerous "get-rich-quick" schemes.
The employee also accused Resnic of sexual harassment and said he asked friends to try out his origami condoms and report back. The condoms were also tested on rabbits, which were "sacrificed by lethal injection" after having pieces of condoms vaginally inserted for five days.
The employee, who requested anonymity, supplied hundreds of documents to the Free Beacon supporting his claims.
However, Resnic blamed the employee for misusing grant funds, and filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles. That lawsuit was dismissed on Jan. 21 after Resnic failed to appear in court or answer the employee’s cross-complaint.
"In this case, Plaintiff appears to have abandoned his action," read a motion to dismiss the case, filed by the employee’s attorney on Dec. 23.
The day after the Free Beacon published a story on Resnic’s legal troubles, the origami condom inventor sent an email to the employee’s lawyer, in which he claimed that he had been ordered to pay back funds to the NIH.
"First, I would suggest that you and your client discontinue your reprehensible and relentless media campaigns that have continued in Washington or we will seek a gag order from the judge on Nov 17th," Resnic wrote on Nov. 5.
Resnic then said he would be willing to drop his ill-fated lawsuit against his employee only if the employee agreed to pay back the grant money. He offered a payment plan that would last almost 10,000 years.
"Second, I would be open to mutually dropping the claims and counterclaims and moving on with my work if your client agrees to the following:
"Make restitution to my company of the stolen monies ($487,377.32) at one dollar ($1.oo) /week, by personal check, sent by U.S. mail, until the funds are recovered," Resnic wrote. "(Yes, that's 487,377 weeks or 9,372 yrs. of payments)."
"Nonetheless, he has put me on the hook with the National Institutes of Health for the stolen monies that I am required by law to repay," Resnic continued. "I need to produce a settlement agreement (whatever the terms) to the NIH that a recovery plan has been agreed to."
In an email the following day, Resnic demanded that the Free Beacon retract its previous stories, which detailed the NIH funding and accusations of fraud.
"One additional item came up to add to the list," Resnic wrote on Nov. 6. "[The former employee] must also request a retraction from the publication that wrote the stories, the Washington Free Beacon, and they must print a retraction."
"While you and your client deliberate the matter I will consider adding items to the list. Best, Danny Resnic."
The Free Beacon has reached out to Resnic for comment on previous stories. When the Free Beacon asked Resnic in November about his lawyer’s statement that he "refused to pay legal fees," Resnic asked to never be contacted again.
"Kindly do not contact me or the staff again regarding any stories. Best, Dan Resnic," the email read.
Resnic was not pleased when the Free Beacon asked for his comment regarding his repayment of NIH funds.
"In a previous email you were directed not to contact me or my office again," he wrote. "What part of 'do not contact' are you misunderstanding. Additional contact will be considered harassment."
Fifteen minutes later, after no response from the Free Beacon, Resnic said, "You've been moved to SPAM."
The NIH told the Free Beacon that they do not comment on potential or pending litigation.