Nanny Blacklisted, Accused Of Being A Hooker By Employer: Lawsuit

WEST VILLAGE, NY — A West Village au pair claims a wealthy couple forced her to work long hours with no overtime and kicked her out when she complained. The nanny says the mistreatment didn't end there and is suing her former employers for smearing her reputation with prospective employers and even accusing her of being a prostitute, the New York Post reported.

Court documents reviewed by the New York Post show that Elizabeth Ashley Little, 38, began working for Jacco Reijtenbagh, who works in real estate, and his wife Marlies Verhoeven, the founder of a concierge service, in 2014.

Little was supposed to care for and clean up after the couple's two children in their $14 million townhouse on Charles Street with an annual salary of $70,000. Little claims she was told she could earn more if she agreed to accept payments in cash, but after two years of non-stop shifts seven days a week Little says she never saw a dime in overtime and complained to the couple, the Post reported.

The nanny claims Reijtenbagh and his wife threw her out of their home — without any of her belongings — once she finally voiced her frustration. Little says she threatened to sue the couple in August 2016 and Verhoeven retaliated by telling the agency she worked with that they were in a legal battle over “the care and safety of her children,” according to Manhattan Supreme Court documents reviewed by the Post.

What Little found most alarming was when Reijtenbagh “told Ms. Little that an acquaintance of his allegedly found pictures of [her] on a website for escorts,’’ the lawsuit says. Little vehemently denies that she is or ever was an escort and believes someone stole the photos from her Instagram account to create the escort profile.

The suit also claims that Reijtenbagh threatened to smear her to prospective employers if she did not sign a document absolving his family from all legal claims, the newspaper reported.

In a joint statement to the Post he and his wife said, “We are disappointed to see this complaint, a fabrication filed by a disgruntled former employee who was terminated more than two years ago, and we will defend against it.”

Reijtenbagh did not respond to requests for additional comment by Patch.

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