eBay to pay $48.7 million settlement to Massachusetts couple harassed by former staff

eBay Inc. has agreed to pay $48.7 million to Massachusetts residents David and Ina Steiner, founders of the e-commerce newsletter EcommerceBytes, to resolve a six-year legal dispute alleging a coordinated harassment campaign by former eBay employees. The settlement includes $46.15 million from eBay, $2 million from former CEO Devin Wenig, $500,000 from former senior vice president Wendy Jones and $50,000 from former chief communications officer Steve Wymer, as well as $6 million earmarked for charitable donations, with an additional $1 million from Wenig designated for a First Amendment rights organization.

The Steiners claimed that the campaign began with threatening messages on social media and escalated to anonymous deliveries of live cockroaches, spiders, a funeral wreath, a bloody pig Halloween mask and other items, as well as attempts to install a GPS tracker on their vehicle. They said the harassment was intended to silence their reporting on eBay.

"David and I were on the same page that this settlement should and must be made public — as victims who want to prevent something like this from ever happening to anyone else, and as reporters who believe in transparency," Ina Steiner said in an email to the Associated Press.

Federal prosecutors previously charged seven former eBay employees with conspiracy and cyberstalking; most pleaded guilty and received prison or home-confinement sentences. eBay apologized for the conduct, describing it as "reprehensible" and stating that it does not reflect the company’s culture. The company said it has changed leadership and strengthened its policies and ethics training.

Attorney Christopher Murphy highlighted the settlement’s lack of a confidentiality clause, noting that it allows the Steiners to speak publicly about the case and serves as a deterrent to corporate misconduct.