eBay to Pay $3 Million After Former Employees Sent Live Insects and a Bloody Pig Mask to Harass a Couple
eBay has agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty in the wake of a harassment campaign orchestrated by former employees against a Massachusetts couple who ran a newsletter critical of the company. The settlement, announced on Thursday, follows eBay being charged with six criminal offenses, including stalking, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice.
In 2019, eBay employees engaged in a disturbing campaign against Ina and David Steiner, sending threatening packages to their home. The packages included a bloody pig mask, a fetal pig, live insects, and a funeral wreath. The harassment aimed to silence the Steiners’ reporting and protect eBay’s brand, according to the Massachusetts US attorney’s office.
The $3 million settlement, considered the statutory maximum fine for eBay’s charges, requires the company to retain an independent corporate compliance monitor for three years and enhance its compliance program. eBay CEO Jamie Iannone issued a statement expressing the company’s apologies for the conduct in 2019 and acknowledging the wrongfulness of the actions.
The harassment campaign extended beyond gruesome packages, with employees surveilling the Steiners, installing a GPS tracking device on their car, and posting their address on Craigslist for public sexual encounters. eBay’s senior director of safety and security at the time, Jim Baugh, identified as the ringleader, was sentenced to 57 months in prison in September 2022. Six other employees faced felony convictions.
The company terminated all involved employees in 2020, including the former chief communications officer, who has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing. eBay’s CEO assured that the company has strengthened its policies, procedures, controls, and training since the incident.
