Feds Penalize E-Bay for $3 Million After Employees Stalked Couple Over Negative Reviews

Acting U.S. Attorney General William Barr consented to pay a $3 million felony penalty in connection with the harassment and surveillance of a Massachusetts couple. Joshua Levy, an attorney, stated on Thursday.

In August 2019, the couple, Ina and David Steiner, received threats and strange items, including real spiders, cockroaches, a funeral wreath, and a gory pig mask.

The fine was imposed on Thursday as a result of a harassment and intimidation campaign launched by numerous eBay workers against the Steiners, who own an e-commerce news website.

eBay Accused of "Horrific" and "Criminal" Behavior: Legal Reaction Revealed

eBay is accused of engaging in "absolutely horrific, criminal conduct," according to legal lawyers. The allegations center on the behavior of eBay workers and contractors, who are accused of orchestrating a scary campaign. The major goal of this operation was allegedly to quiet individuals who were reporting on eBay's activities and to protect the company's brand image.

eBay was charged with two charges of stalking through interstate travel, two counts of stalking using electronic communications services, one offense of witness tampering, and one act of obstruction of justice by the Justice Department. As part of a deferred prosecution deal, the business agreed to pay $3 million.

The agreement requires eBay to retain an independent corporate compliance monitor for three years to "ensure that eBay's senior leadership sets a tone that makes compliance with the law paramount, implements safeguards to prevent future criminal activity, and makes clear to every eBay employee that the idea of terrorizing innocent people and obstructing investigations will not be tolerated," according to Levy.

Former US Attorney Andrew Lelling stated that the scheme to attack the Steiners, which he called a "campaign of terror," was devised at eBay in April 2019. Devin Wenig, eBay's CEO at the time, published a link to a story regarding his yearly salary authored by Ina Steiner. Steve Wymer, the company's chief communications officer, answered, "We are going to crush this lady."

According to investigators, Baugh spoke with security personnel and deployed a team to Boston, roughly 20 miles from the Steiners' home.

In August 2019, the Steiners began receiving newsletters from organizations they had never joined up for, including Sin City Fetish Night, the Satanic Temple, the Communist Party, and hundreds more. Then there was the harassment on social media. Three days later, the Steiners received an unusual phone call.

The Steiners' neighbors received pornography addressed to David Steiner. Yard sales and sex parties were advertised at the couple's house on social media. Then a book about surviving the death of a spouse, addressed to David Steiner, came on their doorstep in Massachusetts.

Even while authorities investigated and the Steiners installed security cameras, packages and threats continued to arrive for weeks. The Steiners began sleeping in different rooms so that if someone broke in, at least one of them could phone the police or flee, according to David Steiner.

David Steiner discovered he was being followed by a van and then a vehicle one day. He took a picture of the license plate, which caused the case to open.

Local cops traced the license plate number back to a rental business where Veronica Zea, an eBay employee, had hired the van.

Ten months later, federal investigators charged many eBay workers and contractors, including Zea.

Prior to Thursday's accord, seven employees of eBay's Safety and Security division, including two former cops and a former nanny, pled guilty to stalking or cyberstalking offenses. Even with the messages they'd sent, there wasn't enough evidence to press criminal charges against Wenig or Wymer, Lelling told 60 Minutes last year. Wymer was fired for cause. He claims that his communications were misinterpreted and that he only found out about the workers' behavior after the event.

Wenig, who was the CEO of eBay at the time of the stalking effort, left in September 2019 with a $57 million severance payment. He earlier told 60 Minutes that he was shocked by what happened and would have intervened if he had known.

eBay issued a statement on Thursday apologizing for the wrongdoing of its former workers.