EBay blogger harassment settlement totals nearly $56 million
EBay and former executives will pay nearly $56 million to Ina and David Steiner, ending a civil case over a 2019 stalking campaign.
By Maya Okafor · Markets Writer
· 3 min read
The eBay blogger harassment settlement puts a nearly $56 million cost on a 2019 campaign that targeted Ina and David Steiner, the Massachusetts couple behind eCommerceBytes. For investors, the deal closes a civil case tied to a corporate misconduct scandal that led to criminal guilty pleas, prison time for a former security executive and fresh scrutiny of eBay’s internal controls.
EBay and several former executives agreed to the settlement with the Steiners, according to statements from the company and the couple’s attorneys. The Steiners’ lawyers said the couple had faced a “terror campaign” meant to stop their reporting on eBay.
The Steiners run eCommerceBytes, a site followed by online sellers. Their coverage had angered eBay executives who objected to its tone and content, according to federal prosecutors’ prior criminal complaint and the Steiners’ attorneys.
What was the eBay blogger harassment case?
The case centered on a 2019 harassment and stalking campaign against Ina and David Steiner after their ecommerce blog published critical coverage of eBay. Federal prosecutors said former eBay employees sent threatening messages and disturbing deliveries, surveilled the couple and tried to track their car.
The items sent to the Steiners’ home included live insects, a funeral wreath, a bloody pig mask and a book about coping with the death of a spouse, according to prosecutors. Former eBay employees also watched the couple and attempted to place a GPS tracker on their vehicle, prosecutors said.
Communications cited in a 2024 criminal complaint by federal prosecutors showed senior eBay executives discussing Ina Steiner. In one message, former CEO Devin Wenig said to “take her down,” according to the complaint.
The settlement resolves a civil case filed in 2021. The total package is nearly $56 million, according to the company and the Steiners’ attorneys. It includes about $46.1 million from eBay, $2 million from Wenig, $500,000 from eBay’s former senior vice president of operations and $50,000 from eBay’s former chief communications officer.
EBay and Wenig also agreed to make donations to various nonprofits, according to the settlement announcement. Attorneys for the Steiners said separate settlements were reached with all other employees named in the civil complaint.
What did eBay say about the settlement?
EBay said in a required statement that the agreement “fulfills our efforts to make things right” with Ina and David Steiner. The company said the conduct by former employees in 2019 was “wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened.”
The company said it condemned the employees who carried out the misconduct and pleaded guilty to criminal charges. EBay also said the conduct did not represent its culture and that it has since installed new leaders and strengthened policies, procedures, controls and training.
Seven former eBay employees pleaded guilty to charges tied to the scheme. James Baugh, eBay’s former senior director of safety and security, received a sentence of nearly five years in prison.
Wenig was not charged in the criminal case. He told The Boston Globe that the harassment was carried out “deliberately done in secret and without my knowledge.”
For shareholders, the settlement removes one legal overhang while keeping the focus on governance. A civil settlement does not erase the facts described by prosecutors, but it does define the financial terms eBay and former leaders agreed to pay to end the Steiners’ claims.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
