In 2019, married couple Ina and David Steiner, co-authors of an e-commerce newsletter, found themselves at the center of what Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy dubbed “absolutely horrific, criminal conduct” by eBay.
The Steiners had criticized eBay in their newsletter, which caused eBay employees to launch an “unprecedented stalking campaign” against them.
As reported by TechCrunch, eBay employees “terrorized” the Steiners by using sock puppet social media accounts to harass them, and anonymously sent them threatening letters and bizarre objects in the mail, including adult magazines, a bloody pig mask, a funereal wreath, a pig fetus, and a self-help book on how to deal with a spouse’s death.
“Not representative of eBay’s culture”
eBay employees also flew from California to Boston where they vandalized the Steiners’ home. eBay security chief James Baugh said on WhatsApp that the Steiners “are seeing ghosts now. Lol.” and that they “think everyone is following them and they call the police every 10 minutes. We know the targets have been impacted by this op.”
Court documents also revealed eBay employees discussed a plan to put a GPS tracking device on their car, as well as a plot to send a “Samoan gang” to the couple’s home. Correspondence between eBay employees saw them vowing to “crush” Ira Steiner, saying she was a “biased troll who needs to be BURNED DOWN”, and that the head of eBay’s security division should do “whatever it takes” to stop them.
The Steiners went to the authorities and, in 2022, seven eBay employees pled guilty to the plot and Baugh received a five-year prison sentence. Now, after many years, the litigation has come to an end, as eBay and its former employees have agreed to a $56 million settlement with the Steiners.
On their website, Ina Steiner quotes their lawyer Chris Murphy as saying:
“This case was always about more than obtaining financial recovery. From the beginning, our clients wanted to uncover the truth, protect journalists and publishers, hold those responsible accountable, deter future corporate misconduct, and help ensure others would never have to endure what they experienced.
Through years of discovery, motion practice and trial preparation, we were able to accomplish those objectives while securing meaningful compensation for two wonderful people. 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 has apologized and said that “what the Steiners were subjected to by former eBay employees in 2019 was wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened”, that “this agreement is consistent with our commitment to fairly compensate the Steiners and fulfills our efforts to make things right, and that “the 2019 conduct is not representative of eBay’s culture.”
The specifics of the settlement see the Steiners receiving $46.15 million from eBay itself, $2 million from former eBay executive CEO Devin Wenig, $500,000 from former eBay executive Wendy Jones, and $50,000 from former eBay executive Steve Wymer.
In addition, eBay will make $6 million in charitable contributions to various nonprofit organizations, with Wenig personally donating $1 million to a First Amendment charity in Ina Steiner’s name.
Published: Jul 29, 2026 05:05 am