EBay harassment settlement requires nearly $56 million in payments

EBay and several former executives have agreed to pay nearly $56 million in an eBay harassment settlement with Ina and David Steiner, a Massachusetts couple targeted in 2019 after their ecommerce blog drew anger inside the company. The agreement resolves a 2021 civil lawsuit and assigns most of the payment to eBay, according to statements from the company and lawyers for the Steiners.

The Steiners operate eCommerceBytes, a site read by online sellers. Their lawyers said the couple faced a “terror campaign” meant to halt their reporting, after executives objected to coverage of the company.

What is the eBay harassment settlement?

The settlement is a civil resolution requiring payments by eBay, former Chief Executive Devin Wenig and other former senior executives. A civil settlement ends claims between private parties without the same process as a criminal conviction, although related criminal cases had already produced guilty pleas by former eBay employees.

Under the agreement, eBay will pay about $46.1 million, Wenig will pay $2 million, a former senior vice president of operations will pay $500,000 and a former chief communications officer will pay $50,000, according to lawyers for the Steiners. The company and Wenig also agreed to make donations to nonprofits, though the amounts were not specified in the materials cited.

Lawyers for the Steiners said separate settlements were also reached with all other employees named in the civil complaint.

What happened to Ina and David Steiner?

Federal prosecutors alleged in a 2024 criminal complaint that senior eBay executives exchanged messages about Ina Steiner. The complaint cited one message in which Wenig said to “take her down.”

The campaign against the Steiners included online threats and deliveries to their home, according to the accounts cited by prosecutors and the couple’s lawyers. Items sent to them included live insects, a funeral wreath, a bloody pig mask and a book about coping with the death of a spouse.

Former eBay employees also watched the couple and tried to place a GPS tracking device on their car, according to the same accounts. GPS tracking can allow a person’s movements to be monitored remotely, turning a private vehicle into a tool for surveillance.

Seven former eBay employees pleaded guilty to charges connected to the scheme. James Baugh, the company’s former senior director of safety and security, received a prison sentence of nearly five years.

How has eBay responded?

EBay said in a statement required under the settlement that the agreement “fulfills our efforts to make things right” with the Steiners.

The company said the actions directed at the couple by former employees in 2019 were “wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened.” EBay also said it condemned the employees who carried out the conduct and pleaded guilty to criminal charges.

EBay said the conduct was “not representative of eBay’s culture” and that it had changed leadership and strengthened policies, procedures, controls and training after the incident.

Wenig was not charged in the criminal case. In a statement to the Boston Globe, he said the harassment was carried out secretly and without his knowledge.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.