Settlement reached in eBay cyberstalking case

Federal authorities have reached an agreement with eBay over the cyberstalking of a Natick couple. The case included tactics that ranged into the bizarre, such as sending a bloody pig mask and cockroaches to the couple's home.

Under the agreement filed Thursday in federal court in Boston, the company will pay $3 million and agree to conditions such as independent corporate monitoring for three years. eBay was charged with six criminal counts of stalking and witness tampering. The Massachusetts US Attorney's office said the $3million is the maximum fine for the six offenses.

“eBay engaged in absolutely horrific, criminal conduct," said Acting United States Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy. “We left no stone unturned in our mission to hold accountable every individual who turned the victims’ world upside-down through a never-ending nightmare of menacing and criminal acts.”

David and Ina Steiner of Natick sued eBay executives and others for targeting and harassing them after they posted critical comments about the online auction site.

The Steiners publish ECommerceBytes, an online publication that covers internet commerce companies. After they published comments critical of eBay in 2019, they said they were targeted in a series of incidents including being sent such items as a bloody pig mask, live insects, a funeral wreath and a book about surviving the loss of a spouse. On social media, the Steiners' home address was listed as the site of sex parties. The Steiners have said they installed security cameras around their home and lived in fear as a result of the harassment.

In a statement released on their website, the Steiners expressed disappointment that more executives were not interviewed as part of the case.

"As victims of despicable crimes meant to destroy our lives and our livelihood, we felt it was vital to do everything in our power to make sure such a thing never happened to anyone else," the statement said. "eBay's actions against us had a damaging and permanent impact on us - emotionally, psychologically, physically, reputationally, and financially - and we strongly pushed federal prosecutors for further indictments to deter corporate executives and board members from creating a culture where stalking and harassment is tolerated or encouraged."

The criminal case broke after David Steiner took a picture of the license plate on a van that was following him and contacted police. The plate turned out to be from a vehicle rented by an eBay employee.

The Steiners' attorney, Rosemary Scapicchio, has questioned why eBay's CEO at the time, Devin Wenig, was not charged. Court documents indicate text messages between Wenig and then-chief communications officer, Steve Wymer, linking to an online article written by Ina Steiner about Wenig's annual compensation. Wymer texted: "We are going to crush this lady."

Wenig left the company in 2019. He was not charged and has denied any wrongdoing.

Wymer was fired by eBay. He has said his texts were mischaracterized and that he learned of the other employees' conduct only after the fact.

A total of seven eBay employees and contractors were convicted of criminal charges related to the cyberstalking of the Steiners. The harshest sentence went to eBay's former director of safety and security, James Baugh, of San Jose, California. He pleaded guilty to criminal charges of conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking, witness tampering and falsification of records in a federal investigation. Baugh was sentenced to 57 months in prison and ordered to pay a $40,000 fine.

David Harville, 52, eBay's former director of global resiliency, pleaded guilty to stalking charges and was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $20,000.

Philip Cooke, 59, a former eBay security supervisor, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of stalking and witness tampering. Brian Gilbert, 55, a former senior manager for eBay’s Global Security Team, has pleaded guilty to charges including cyberstalking and is awaiting sentencing.

The U.S. attorney's office said there was not enough evidence to charge other eBay workers and executives.

The Steiner's filed a separate civil suit against eBay that is still pending.