Former eBay Inc. Employees Settle After Allegedly Terrorizing Massachusetts Couple With 'Bizarre' Live Insect Deliveries

A Massachusetts couple who endured one of the most disturbing corporate harassment campaigns in American legal history have settled their civil lawsuit against eBay Inc., drawing a confidential close to a case that exposed a poisonous culture inside one of Silicon Valley's biggest names.

David and Ina Steiner, who run EcommerceBytes, an online newsletter focused on the e-commerce industry based in Natick, Massachusetts, filed suit in 2021 alleging that eBay had engaged in a conspiracy to 'intimidate, threaten to kill, torture, terrorise, stalk and silence them' in order to 'stifle their reporting on eBay.'

The couple originally sought £555 million ($700 million) in total damages, later reduced to £397 million ($500 million) after some punitive claims were dismissed. US District Judge Patti Saris dismissed the case on Feb. 25, 2026 after the parties settled; the order allows either side to reopen it within 60 days if the agreement is not finalised. The financial terms were not disclosed.

An Executive Culture that Turned Into a Terror Campaign

The campaign against the Steiners did not begin with insects or pig masks. It began in text messages sent between eBay's most senior executives. EcommerceBytes, originally called AuctionBytes, was founded in 1999 and is read primarily by sellers, but also by some eBay corporate staff who posted comments beneath its articles. The site offered straight reporting on policy changes at eBay, and that directness cost the Steiners dearly.

In April 2019, eBay's then-CEO Devin Wenig shared a link to an article Ina had written about his annual pay. eBay's Chief Communications Officer, Steve Wymer, wrote back: 'We are going to crush this lady.' About a month later, Wenig texted, 'Take her down.' Prosecutors say Wymer later texted eBay security director Jim Baugh: 'I want to see ashes. As long as it takes. Whatever it takes.'

According to the original civil complaint filed in federal court, Wymer also sent a message to Baugh reading: 'If we are ever going to take her down... now is the time,' and added: 'Whatever. It. Takes.' The complaint further alleges Wymer promised he would 'embrace managing any bad fallout' if the plan went south, with a final directive of: 'We need to STOP her.'

According to the 73-page deferred prosecution agreement shared by the Justice Department, one executive called Ina Steiner 'a biased troll who needs to be BURNED DOWN,' adding: 'Hatred is a sin. I am very sinful.' Another referred to David Steiner as an 'unsuck idiot.' What followed those messages was not a public-relations campaign. It was a coordinated physical and psychological assault.

Live Insects, a Funeral Wreath and Surveillance in the Dark

Baugh, a former CIA employee whom eBay had hired to head its global security unit, mobilised his team immediately. According to court documents, between approximately Aug. 5, 2019 and Aug. 23, 2019, Baugh and his co-conspirators at eBay agreed to engage in a harassment campaign targeting the Steiners for their roles in publishing the newsletter.

The campaign unfolded in phases. First, the defendants sent threatening and harassing deliveries anonymously to the couple's home. Second, some defendants sent private Twitter messages and public tweets criticising the newsletter's content, threatening to visit the couple in Natick, with plans to 'dox' them by publishing their home address online. Third, the campaign escalated to in-person surveillance of the couple's home and neighbourhood.

In addition to live cockroaches, spiders and a funeral wreath, the campaign included a book on surviving the loss of a spouse. Other deliveries included a bloody pig mask, resembling the one from the horror film Saw, sent to the Steiners' front door. A day after the mask arrived, one of the employees messaged Ina Steiner on Twitter: 'DO I HAVE UR ATTENTION NOW????' Pornographic magazines bearing David Steiner's name were sent to a neighbour's house. Craigslist posts appeared, inviting strangers to sexual encounters at the couple's home address.

As protection in the event they were stopped by police during their physical surveillance trip, Baugh and Harville allegedly carried false documents purporting to show they were investigating the Steiners as 'Persons of Interest' who had threatened eBay executives.

When a pizza delivery ordered by the eBay team arrived in the middle of the night on Aug. 17, David Steiner later said he thought it might be a hitman. The Steiners spotted the surveillance team, photographed their rental car's licence plate, and reported it to Natick Police, an act that would eventually unravel the entire scheme.

Prison Sentences, a Corporate Admission and a £2.38 Million Fine

The criminal reckoning was swift. Seven former eBay employees and contractors on the company's security team were ultimately charged, convicted and sentenced. Jim Baugh, eBay's former Senior Director of Safety and Security, was sentenced to 57 months in prison in September 2022. David Harville, former Director of Global Resiliency, received 24 months.

Stephanie Popp, former Senior Manager of Global Intelligence, received 12 months. Philip Cooke, a former Senior Manager of Security Operations, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 12 months of home confinement.

At sentencing, US Attorney Rachael Rollins described the defendants' conduct as 'outrageous, cruel and defies any explanation — all the more because these men were seasoned and highly paid security executives backed by the resources of a Fortune 500 corporation.'

In her statement to 60 Minutes, Ina Steiner described the ordeal plainly: 'It felt like corporate terrorism because we were terrorised. And it was very calculated. It was very vicious.'

The criminal accountability did not stop at individuals. In January 2024, eBay was charged criminally with two counts of stalking through interstate travel, two counts of stalking through electronic communications services, one count of witness tampering and one count of obstruction of justice.

The company entered into a deferred prosecution agreement, admitted to a detailed recitation of all relevant facts, and agreed to pay a criminal penalty of £2.38 million ($3 million), the statutory maximum fine for the six felony offences. As part of the agreement, eBay was required to retain an independent corporate compliance monitor for three years and make extensive enhancements to its compliance programme.