eBay Steiner settlement will pay couple $48.7 million over harassment case
eBay will pay David and Ina Steiner $48.7 million, plus charitable donations, to resolve claims over a former employees’ harassment campaign.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
The eBay Steiner settlement will pay David and Ina Steiner $48.7 million after the Massachusetts couple accused former company employees of threats, stalking and anonymous deliveries to their home, according to settlement details released Tuesday. The agreement closes a long-running case that grew out of a campaign federal prosecutors said targeted the couple over their e-commerce newsletter.
David and Ina Steiner founded EcommerceBytes, which covers the online retail industry. In a 2021 lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston, they said eBay and former employees sought to frighten and silence them because of their reporting on the company.
The parties had announced a tentative settlement in February as the civil case approached trial, but the agreement was not completed. The Steiners asked a federal judge in June to reopen the case, and the new settlement resolves the litigation.
What was the eBay Steiner settlement about?
The settlement concerns a 2019 harassment campaign that prosecutors and the Steiners said included cyberstalking, death threats, in-person surveillance and disturbing deliveries sent to the couple’s home in Natick, Massachusetts. Federal prosecutors have said those deliveries included live cockroaches and spiders, a funeral wreath and a bloody pig mask.
Prosecutors also said former eBay employees mailed pornographic magazines addressed with David Steiner’s name to a neighbor’s home. They also planned to break into the couple’s garage to place a GPS tracking device on their vehicle, according to prosecutors.
The compensation includes $46.15 million from eBay, $2 million from former Chief Executive Devin Wenig, $500,000 from former executive Wendy Jones and $50,000 from former Chief Communications Officer Steve Wymer. The settlement also includes $7 million in charitable giving: $6 million funded by eBay to nonprofit groups and $1 million from Wenig to a First Amendment charity in Ina Steiner’s name.
Christopher Murphy, an attorney for the Steiners, said the deal sends a warning that large companies cannot use intimidation to suppress journalism. He said the couple insisted that the settlement not include a confidentiality clause, allowing them to speak publicly about the case.
The agreement also requires eBay to issue a public statement about the conduct of former executives involved in the matter. On Tuesday, eBay again apologized, saying what the Steiners experienced at the hands of former employees in 2019 was wrong and reprehensible.
eBay also acknowledged what it called an unprofessional tone in internal communications by Wenig, Wymer and Jones. The company said the behavior did not reflect its culture and said it has changed leadership while strengthening policies, procedures and ethics training.
Federal prosecutors charged seven former eBay employees in 2020, alleging they took part in a coordinated effort after becoming angry about coverage in the Steiners’ newsletter. Most of the defendants pleaded guilty to charges that included conspiracy and cyberstalking and later received prison terms or home confinement.
In 2024, eBay agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty under a deferred prosecution agreement with federal authorities. Murphy said protecting journalists and publishers, along with deterring corporate misconduct, had been goals of the Steiners’ case from the start.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.