eBay and several former employees agreed to pay $56 million to Ina and David Steiner to settle a 2021 civil lawsuit over a 2019 harassment campaign targeting the couple.
The Steiners, who co-author the EcommerceBytes newsletter, said they were targeted after high-level eBay executives grew angry over the newsletter’s criticism of the company, according to the source article and previously released court documents.
The harassment campaign included the use of sock puppet social media accounts, anonymous threatening letters, and mailed items including live spiders, cockroaches, pornographic magazines, a bloody pig mask, a funeral wreath, and a book about surviving the death of a spouse.
Previously released court documents also described an unsuccessful plan to attach a GPS tracking device to the Steiners’ car and an internal discussion about sending a “Samoan gang” to their home.
According to the law office representing the Steiners, the settlement includes $46.15 million from eBay, $2 million from former Chief Executive Devin Wenig, $500,000 from former executive Wendy Jones, and $50,000 from former executive Steve Wymer.
The law office said additional funds from the settlement will go to various non-profits.
In 2022, seven former eBay employees were criminally charged and pleaded guilty in connection with the plot, including former security chief James Baugh, who was sentenced to nearly five years in prison.
Others indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice were David Harville, Brian Gilbert, Stephanie Popp, Stephanie Stockwell, Philip Cooke, and former eBay contractor Veronica Zea.
In a statement published Tuesday, eBay said the conduct was “not representative of eBay’s culture.”
“As we have long stated, what the Steiners were subjected to by former eBay employees in 2019 was wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened,” the company said.
“We continue to extend our deepest apologies to the Steiners. This agreement is consistent with our commitment to fairly compensate the Steiners and fulfills our efforts to make things right,” eBay said.
“This case was always about more than obtaining financial recovery,” Christopher Murphy, one of the Steiners’ attorneys, said. “From the beginning, our clients wanted to uncover the truth, protect journalists and publishers, hold those responsible accountable, deter future corporate misconduct, and help ensure others would never have to endure what they experienced.”
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