July 28 (Reuters) - EBay and three former top executives have agreed to pay $55.7 million to resolve a lawsuit by a Massachusetts couple who fell victim to a bizarre stalking and harassment campaign carried out by several of its employees in retaliation for their coverage of the e-commerce company in a newsletter they publish.
David and Ina Steiner announced the settlement late on Monday, bringing an end to a case they filed in 2021 in Boston federal court after several former eBay employees were prosecuted for targeting them in a cyber-stalking campaign that involved sending the couple cockroaches, fly larvae and a bloody Halloween pig mask.
As part of the settlement, eBay agreed to pay $46.15 million to the couple; fund $6 million in charitable contributions to nonprofit organizations; and issuea "strongly-worded" statement about the conduct of three of its top former executives.
"We believe this resolution sends a clear message that corporations and their executives cannot engage in this type of misconduct without facing significant consequences," Christopher Murphy, the Steiners' attorney, said in a statement.
EBay said in a statement that what happened to the Steiners was "wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened."
"We continue to extend our deepest apologies to the Steiners," the company said. "This agreement is consistent with our commitment to fairly compensate the Steiners and fulfills our efforts to make things right."
Seven former eBay workers pleaded guilty and received sentences of as high as 57 months in prison for participating in the scheme, which also involved several of them traveling from California to Natick, Massachusetts, to surveil the Steiners and try to install a GPS tracking device on their car.
Prosecutors have said that the aim was to silence them after senior executives deemed their newsletter, EcommerceBytes, critical of the company. The campaign began after then-CEO Devin Wenig in August 2019 texted Steve Wymer, then its chief communications officer, that it was time to "take her down," referring to Ina Steiner, according to prosecutors and the Steiners.
EBay itself was criminally charged and agreed in 2024 to pay a $3 million fine.
Wenig, a former Thomson Reuters executive who stepped down as eBay's CEO in September 2019, was never charged. His lawyers have argued he had no knowledge or involvement in the harassment campaign and that his messages had been advocating for a public relations strategy to address Ina Steiner's reporting.
As part of the settlement, the Steiners' attorneys said Wenig will pay them $2 million and make a $1 million donation to a charity focused on protecting First Amendment rights in the name of Ina Steiner.
"No one should ever have been subjected to what the Steiners endured in 2019, and I’m saddened by it, especially because it occurred during my time as CEO of eBay," Wenig said in a statement on Tuesday. "This behavior is antithetical to everything I stand for and believe in."
Wendy Jones, who previously served as senior vice president of global operations, and Wymer will pay the couple $500,000 and $50,000, respectively, the plaintiffs say. Their lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.
The Steiners' lawyers said additional settlements were reached with other with all other eBay employees named in their lawsuit.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
