A couple who ran a newsletter critical of eBay were sent cockroaches, fly larvae and a bloody Halloween pig mask by company executives – a campaign that began with then-chief executive Devin Wenig texting “Take her down” about journalist Ina Steiner.
David and Ina Steiner announced on Monday that eBay and three former top executives have agreed to pay $56m (£42m) to resolve a lawsuit over the 2019 harassment, which prosecutors described as “unprecedented, relentless, and over-the-top”.
“eBay and ex-executives pay $56m to couple hounded with cockroaches and pig mask after 'take her down' order.”
The Steiners, who published the EcommerceBytes newsletter, were also stalked at their Massachusetts home. Executives traveled from California to surveil the couple and attempt to install a GPS tracking device on their car. Other actions included a funeral wreath, a book on surviving the death of a spouse, and harassing messages on Twitter.
Seven former eBay employees pleaded guilty to criminal charges between 2022 and 2024, receiving prison sentences of up to 57 months. eBay itself was criminally charged and entered a deferred prosecution agreement in 2024, paying a $3m fine.
The civil settlement – filed in Boston federal court in 2021 – includes $46.15m for the Steiners and $6m for non-profit organisations. Wenig, who left eBay in 2019, is personally paying $1m to an unnamed charity dedicated to protecting First Amendment rights, to be gifted in Ina Steiner’s name. Wenig was never charged; his lawyers argued he had no knowledge of the harassment.
Christopher Murphy of Scalli Murphy Law PC, the Steiners’ attorney, said: “We believe this resolution sends a clear message that corporations and their executives cannot engage in this type of misconduct without facing significant consequences.”
eBay said in a statement: “What the Steiners were subjected to by former eBay employees in 2019 was wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened.” The company added that the agreement “fulfills our efforts to make things right”.
The campaign began in August 2019, when Wenig texted then-chief communications officer Steve Wymer, according to prosecutors and the Steiners. The text read: “Take her down.”