eBay and Former Executives Pay $55.7 Million to Settle Cyberstalking Case Against Journalist Couple

David and Ina Steiner ran EcommerceBytes, a newsletter and website covering the online marketplace industry. In the summer of 2019, a team of eBay security personnel, directed by senior executives, launched a covert harassment operation against the couple at their home in Natick, Massachusetts. The goal was to intimidate them into softening their coverage of eBay.

The campaign included anonymous deliveries of disturbing items to the Steiners' home: live cockroaches and spiders, a funeral wreath, a bloody pig mask, and a book about coping with a spouse's death. Employees sent pornographic magazines to a neighbor. A team that included a former CIA officer conducted physical surveillance outside the couple's residence and made at least one attempt to place a GPS tracking device on their vehicle. Anonymous threatening messages appeared online targeting the couple.

Seven former eBay employees ultimately faced federal criminal charges. Six pleaded guilty. Jim Baugh, the company's former global security chief who led the on-the-ground operation in Boston, received a 57-month prison sentence. eBay itself entered a deferred prosecution agreement and paid a $3 million criminal fine.

The Steiners filed a civil lawsuit in 2021 in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. In the spring of 2024, they retained Finkelstein and Partners LLP alongside Scalli Murphy Law, Diller Law LLP, and Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson and Garber LLP. Andrew Finkelstein served as lead counsel. The case was heading toward trial when the parties reached a resolution.

The final settlement, announced July 28, 2026, totaled $55.7 million: $48.7 million in direct compensation and $7 million in charitable commitments. eBay contributed $46.15 million. Former CEO Devin Wenig paid $2 million, former senior vice president Wendy Jones paid $500,000, and former chief communications officer Steve Wymer paid $50,000. The settlement contained no confidentiality provision, leaving the Steiners free to discuss the resolution publicly.