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eBay Inc. has agreed to provide nearly $50 million in compensation to David and Ina Steiner, the Massachusetts residents who founded EcommerceBytes newsletter covering the e-commerce sector. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in 2021 against the company following a coordinated harassment campaign by former eBay employees that included death threats, cyberstalking and in-person surveillance lasting more than six years.
The Steiners received a tentative settlement proposal in February as litigation approached trial, though the parties initially could not finalize the agreement. After the couple requested in June that a federal judge reopen the case, a new settlement was announced Tuesday that brings the proceedings to a close.
Under the agreement, eBay will pay $46.15 million directly to the couple, while former CEO Devin Wenig will contribute $2 million, former Senior Vice President Wendy Jones will pay $500,000 and former Chief Communications Officer Steve Wymer will provide $50,000. The settlement includes no confidentiality clause, permitting the Steiners to discuss publicly what occurred.
Federal prosecutors in 2020 charged seven former eBay employees with orchestrating the harassment campaign after becoming upset about coverage in the couple’s newsletter. Most defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy and cyberstalking charges and received prison sentences or home confinement orders.
The campaign involved sending live cockroaches and spiders, a funeral wreath and a bloody pig Halloween mask to the couple’s residence. Employees also mailed pornographic magazines bearing the husband’s name to a neighbor and plotted to break into the couple’s garage to install a GPS tracking device on their vehicle.
The settlement requires eBay to issue a public statement addressing former executives’ conduct and acknowledges the company’s leadership failures. eBay stated Tuesday that the misconduct “was wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened” and that the conduct does not reflect the company’s current culture.
The agreement includes $7 million in charitable donations, with eBay funding $6 million and Wenig providing an additional $1 million to organizations supporting First Amendment rights, including a charity established in Ina Steiner’s name. In 2024, eBay also agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty under a deferred prosecution agreement with federal authorities.
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