Nanny to Jonathan Braun’s children testifies she feared for her life while trying to get away from him
The live-in nanny of the Lawrence man granted clemency by President Donald Trump testified Friday that she feared for her life as she waited barricaded inside her bathroom waiting for Nassau County police to arrive after her boss came into her bedroom and groped her.
Her employer, Jonathan Braun, 41, whose 10-year federal sentence for drug dealing and money laundering was commuted by the president on the last day of his first term, could be put back behind bars if Brooklyn District Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto determines that his litany of arrests over the last year violates the terms of his 5-year post-release supervision.
Besides the nanny’s testimony, over the two-day hearing, the judge heard Braun’s butler testify about an assault on Braun’s spiritual adviser and his 3-year-old son; the executive of the Atlantic Beach Toll Authority who told of alleged chronic toll evasion in Braun’s luxury Italian sports cars and an emergency room nurse who said Braun tried to punch her twice and swung an IV pole at her.
The nanny, identified only by the name Dannelle, took the witness stand in federal court to relay her experience over Valentine’s Day weekend of having her boss pull her down on a bed, put her in a chokehold and grope her while forcing her to touch him.
Danelle said that Braun, who is an observant Jew, asked her to plug his phone in her room on Feb. 14, a Friday, because his faith prohibits him from touching electronics.
When she heard a knock on the door at 6:15 a.m. she thought it was one of the children in her charge, but it was Braun, dressed only in gray sweatpants, asking to retrieve his phone.
He told her that he had gotten into an argument with his wife and his parents, who were also staying in the house, and asked them to leave. Danelle, who had worked for the family since August 2024, said he seemed upset and kept asking her what to do.
Braun then put his arm around her neck and pulled her down on the bed, she said. He then propositioned her and when she rebuffed him, he held her around the neck and pulled her on top of him, groping her.
“I have a husband and you have your wife,” she said she told him. “He said that it was all right as long as we kept it between us.”
She made and excuse to go to the bathroom, locked herself in and called her husband.
Fearful of Braun’s volatile temper, she said she texted her spouse to keep her boss from knowing that she was calling for help.
As Braun made lewd proposals outside the bathroom door the woman tried to figure a way to escape, she testified.
“Help me,” she texted her husband, according to exhibits entered into evidence. “I don’t know what to do. He came into my room. I can’t talk loud. I’m locked in the bathroom … He’s sitting on my bed and trying to feel me up I had to get into the bathroom.”
Danelle texted Braun’s mother and his wife for help, but she was worried that they would tell him what she said.
“I don’t want him to kill me,” she texted her husband, according to the evidence.
The nanny told federal prosecutor Rachel Bennek that she had seen Braun erupt in anger before and she feared what he could do.
“I’ve seen him get angry before,” she said. “I heard his wife scream ‘stop’ before running out of the house … He knows people, he’s dangerous. I didn’t want him to hurt me.”
She added, “I heard him on the phone discussing money and threatening to hurt them if they didn’t pay.”
Before Braun’s prison sentence began on his drug dealing and money laundering case, he was sued by the New York Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission over a predatory loan scheme he ran out of Staten Island.
He was forced to pay a $20 million settlement and is barred from lending in the future.
Ultimately it was the Nassau County police who came to her rescue, not before she said Braun told her not to tell the police what she said. Danelle said that after police took her statement and drove her to the train station, she never went back to work for Braun.
Prosecutors said that after she filed charges, someone reached out on Braun’s behalf offering her money to drop the case.
Braun has more than half a dozen charges pending against him in Nassau County courts, three felony counts for his alleged attack on the 3-year-old and his father.
Matsumoto denied Braun’s request to get out of federal lockup, where he’s being held, for Passover.
The judge ordered the hearing to continue on May 15, after the holidays.
The live-in nanny of the Lawrence man granted clemency by President Donald Trump testified Friday that she feared for her life as she waited barricaded inside her bathroom waiting for Nassau County police to arrive after her boss came into her bedroom and groped her.
Her employer, Jonathan Braun, 41, whose 10-year federal sentence for drug dealing and money laundering was commuted by the president on the last day of his first term, could be put back behind bars if Brooklyn District Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto determines that his litany of arrests over the last year violates the terms of his 5-year post-release supervision.
Besides the nanny’s testimony, over the two-day hearing, the judge heard Braun’s butler testify about an assault on Braun’s spiritual adviser and his 3-year-old son; the executive of the Atlantic Beach Toll Authority who told of alleged chronic toll evasion in Braun’s luxury Italian sports cars and an emergency room nurse who said Braun tried to punch her twice and swung an IV pole at her.
Justin Dizon, left, the butler to Jonathan Braun, leaves federal Court in Brooklyn after testifying this week. Credit: Ed Quinn
The nanny, identified only by the name Dannelle, took the witness stand in federal court to relay her experience over Valentine’s Day weekend of having her boss pull her down on a bed, put her in a chokehold and grope her while forcing her to touch him.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- The live-in nanny of the Lawrence man granted clemency by President Donald Trump testified Friday that she feared for her life after Jonathan Braun groped her while keeping her in a chokehold.
- Braun had his 10-year federal sentence for drug dealing and money laundering commuted by President Donald Trump.
- A judge could put him back behind bars if she determines that his litany of arrests over the last year violates the terms of his 5-year post-release supervision.
Danelle said that Braun, who is an observant Jew, asked her to plug his phone in her room on Feb. 14, a Friday, because his faith prohibits him from touching electronics.
When she heard a knock on the door at 6:15 a.m. she thought it was one of the children in her charge, but it was Braun, dressed only in gray sweatpants, asking to retrieve his phone.
He told her that he had gotten into an argument with his wife and his parents, who were also staying in the house, and asked them to leave. Danelle, who had worked for the family since August 2024, said he seemed upset and kept asking her what to do.
Braun then put his arm around her neck and pulled her down on the bed, she said. He then propositioned her and when she rebuffed him, he held her around the neck and pulled her on top of him, groping her.
“I have a husband and you have your wife,” she said she told him. “He said that it was all right as long as we kept it between us.”
She made and excuse to go to the bathroom, locked herself in and called her husband.
Fearful of Braun’s volatile temper, she said she texted her spouse to keep her boss from knowing that she was calling for help.
Text messages between the live-in nanny of Jonathan Braun and her husband after she said she was groped by Braun in her bedroom, presented as evidence by federal prosecutors in a hearing Friday in federal court. Credit: EDNY
As Braun made lewd proposals outside the bathroom door the woman tried to figure a way to escape, she testified.
“Help me,” she texted her husband, according to exhibits entered into evidence. “I don’t know what to do. He came into my room. I can’t talk loud. I’m locked in the bathroom … He’s sitting on my bed and trying to feel me up I had to get into the bathroom.”
Danelle texted Braun’s mother and his wife for help, but she was worried that they would tell him what she said.
“I don’t want him to kill me,” she texted her husband, according to the evidence.
The nanny told federal prosecutor Rachel Bennek that she had seen Braun erupt in anger before and she feared what he could do.
“I’ve seen him get angry before,” she said. “I heard his wife scream ‘stop’ before running out of the house … He knows people, he’s dangerous. I didn’t want him to hurt me.”
She added, “I heard him on the phone discussing money and threatening to hurt them if they didn’t pay.”
Before Braun’s prison sentence began on his drug dealing and money laundering case, he was sued by the New York Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission over a predatory loan scheme he ran out of Staten Island.
He was forced to pay a $20 million settlement and is barred from lending in the future.
Ultimately it was the Nassau County police who came to her rescue, not before she said Braun told her not to tell the police what she said. Danelle said that after police took her statement and drove her to the train station, she never went back to work for Braun.
Prosecutors said that after she filed charges, someone reached out on Braun’s behalf offering her money to drop the case.
Braun has more than half a dozen charges pending against him in Nassau County courts, three felony counts for his alleged attack on the 3-year-old and his father.
Matsumoto denied Braun’s request to get out of federal lockup, where he’s being held, for Passover.
The judge ordered the hearing to continue on May 15, after the holidays.
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