eBay will pay $3 million to resolve criminal charges in a bizarre cyberstalking case<p>The US attorney's office in Massachusetts says <a data-i13n="cpos:1;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/tag/ebay/">
eBay[/url] will pay a $3 million penalty to resolve criminal charges following a harassment campaign conducted by several former executives. Several ex-employees targeted a couple who wrote a newsletter that was critical of the company.</p>
<p>The Justice Department <a data-i13n="elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:2;pos:1" class="no-affiliate-link" href="
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/ebay-inc-pay-3-million-connection-corporate-cyberstalking-campaign-targeting" data-original-link="
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/ebay-inc-pay-3-million-connection-corporate-cyberstalking-campaign-targeting">
charged eBay[/url] 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 $3 million fine was the statutory maximum for the felonies. As part of a deferred prosecution agreement with authorities, eBay also needs to improve its compliance program and retain an independent corporate compliance monitor for three years.</p>
<span id="end-legacy-contents"></span><p>The US attorney's office says eBay "admitted to a detailed recitation of all the relevant facts about its conduct." In August 2019, the company's former senior director of safety and security Jim Baugh and six others <a data-i13n="cpos:3;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/ebay-employees-doj-cyberstalking-charges-210335753.html">
carried out a harassment campaign[/url] against Ina and David Steiner of Massachusetts. The couple wrote about litigation involving eBay and higher-ups at the company were said to have been frustrated about the negative coverage.</p>
<p>Baugh and his co-conspirators harassed the couple by, among other things, sending them a fetal pig, a funeral wreath and live spiders and cockroaches. According to prosecutors, three of the former eBay employees traveled to the Steiners' home in the aim of <a data-i13n="elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:4;pos:1" class="no-affiliate-link" href="
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/feds-charge-ebay-employees-live-spiders-cockroaches-couple-106297532" data-original-link="
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/feds-charge-ebay-employees-live-spiders-cockroaches-couple-106297532">
planting a GPS tracking device on their car[/url]. The campaign also involved sending harassing messages via Twitter (now X).</p>
<p>Baugh and several others <a data-i13n="cpos:5;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/former-ebay-execs-prison-ecommercebytes-cyberstalking-case-045145745.html">
were convicted[/url] and <a data-i13n="cpos:6;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/ebay-david-harville-pleads-guility-223308235.html">
sent to prison[/url]. One other has admitted to their part in the campaign but has yet to be sentenced.</p>
<p>In a victim impact statement <a data-i13n="elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:7;pos:1" class="no-affiliate-link" href="
https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2024/1/1704995745.html" data-original-link="
https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2024/1/1704995745.html">
published on their website[/url], the Steiners wrote that "eBay's actions against us had a damaging and permanent impact on us — emotionally, psychologically, physically, reputationally, and financially — and we strongly pushed federal prosecutors for further indictments to deter corporate executives and board members from creating a culture where stalking and harassment is tolerated or encouraged."</p>
<p>The pair and Steiner Associates, the publisher of their
EcommerceBytes newsletter, have filed a civil lawsuit against eBay and the former employees. A trial has been scheduled for March next year.</p>This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/ebay-will-pay-3-million-to-resolve-criminal-charges-in-a-bizarre-cyberstalking-case-213050834.html?src=rssSource:
eBay will pay $3 million to resolve criminal charges in a bizarre cyberstalking case
