eBay and three former top executives agreed to pay $55.7 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by Massachusetts couple David and Ina Steiner, who were subjected to a stalking and harassment campaign carried out by company employees in 2019 in retaliation for their coverage of eBay in their newsletter, EcommerceBytes.
Under the terms of the settlement, eBay will pay the Steiners $46.15 million and fund $6 million in charitable contributions to nonprofit organizations. Former eBay CEO Devin Wenig agreed to pay $2 million to the couple and contribute an additional $1 million to a charity focused on protecting First Amendment rights in the name of Ina Steiner. Former eBay senior vice president of operations Wendy Jones agreed to pay $500,000, and former chief communications officer Steve Wymer agreed to pay $50,000. Separate settlements were also reached with all other former eBay employees named in the civil action, the Steiners' attorneys said.
eBay was also required to issue a public statement as part of the agreement. "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 in a statement. "We condemn, in the strongest terms possible, the employees who perpetrated and pled guilty to criminal charges for the misconduct against Ina and David Steiner."
According to CNBC, the Steiners were targeted with menacing online messages and an escalating series of unsettling packages at their home — including live insects, a funeral wreath, a bloody pig mask, and a book about grieving the death of a partner. Some former eBay employees made the trip from California to Natick, Massachusetts, where they monitored the Steiners and tried to fix a GPS tracking device to their vehicle, according to Reuters.
The harassment operation was set in motion after Wenig sent Wymer a text in August 2019 saying it was time to "take her down," a reference to Ina Steiner. Wenig was not named in any criminal case. According to Reuters, his attorneys have maintained that he was neither aware of nor a participant in the harassment campaign.
In total, seven former eBay employees entered guilty pleas on criminal charges stemming from the scheme; the longest sentence handed down was 57 months. eBay itself was criminally charged and in 2024 agreed to pay a $3 million fine under a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Steiners filed their civil lawsuit in Boston federal court in 2021. The settlement contains no confidentiality provision, allowing the couple to discuss the facts of the case publicly.
"We believe this resolution sends a clear message that corporations and their executives cannot engage in this type of misconduct without facing significant consequences," attorney Christopher Murphy said in a statement.