eBay execs terrorized bloggers with porn, cockroaches: lawsuit

A Massachusetts couple is bidding for justice towards eBay, alleging that executives on the tech big unleashed a ruthless harassment and cyberstalking marketing campaign towards them that had them fearing for his or her lives.

Ina and David Steiner, who run an e-commerce commerce publication known as EcommerceBytes, sued eBay claiming that the net public sale home and market besieged them with obscene supplies together with reside cockroaches, pornography and a harrowing handbook on surviving the dying of a partner, in accordance with the lawsuit.

The Natick, Massachusetts-based couple claimed in court docket docs that they have been bodily stalked by eBay execs in a black van and different automobiles outdoors their house. Additional, the corporate allegedly tried to interrupt into their storage to put in a GPS monitoring machine as a way to defame the duo and get them to cease reporting on eBay, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit, filed in July 2021, alleges that eBay “engaged in a coordinated effort to intimidate, threaten to kill, torture, terrorize, stalk and silence the Steiners, as a way to stifle their reporting on eBay.” The couple failed to achieve a settlement with eBay and are continuing with the lawsuit following a non-public mediation with the corporate, Rosemary Scapicchio, the Steiners’ lawyer, wrote in a submitting in Could, as reported by the Boston Globe.

Defendants Devin Wenig, former eBay CEO, and Steven Wymer, former senior vice chairman and chief communications officer at eBay, reportedly tracked protection from EcommerceBytes and have become “more and more enraged by what they perceived because the Steiners’ unfavorable protection of eBay and the higher echelons of the company,” the lawsuit claims.

The duo allegedly despatched a directive to at the very least seven of its safety staffers aimed toward terminating the Steiners’ reporting on eBay, in accordance with the swimsuit.

“No matter it takes,” Wymer allegedly communicated to the safety staffers, in accordance with the swimsuit, which additionally said, “We have to STOP her.”

Greater than 20 years in the past, the Steiners began the information website EcommerceBytes, a discussion board for on-line sellers to pontificate criticisms about tech giants like eBay, Amazon and Etsy with tales similar to “EBay CEO Devin Wenig Earns 152 Times that of Employees,” amongst different objects.

However in 2019, issues bought darkish after a sequence of harrowing occasions allegedly unfolded by the hands of eBay’s safety workforce. All of it started with an “on-line intimidation marketing campaign,” the lawsuit claims, when the defendants taunted Ina Steiner with a Twitter deal with pretending to be an eBay vendor, threatening her to cease reporting on the public sale big. The swimsuit says the net threats continued, and the couple allegedly acquired disturbing packages that included reside cockroaches, spiders, a Halloween masks of a bloody pig and a guide titled “Grief Diaries: Surviving Lack of a Partner” despatched to David Steiner.

The deliveries have been accompanied by vulgar messages on Twitter similar to, “Do I’ve your consideration now, c—-?” the lawsuit claims. Different deliveries, together with pornography and “Hustler: Barely Authorized” magazines have been despatched to the Steiners’ neighbors’ house in David’s identify, the swimsuit says, in an effort to defame his picture. What’s extra, the couple was allegedly additionally the goal of a Craigslist submit falsely promoting they have been in search of intercourse companions for bondage and sadism, amongst different claims.

Seven former eBay staff have pleaded responsible and the Steiners are suing Wenig, in addition to some others, claiming the brutal ambush towards them was not spurred by staff — however extra on account of the corporate’s coverage, the New York Times reported.

On Sept. 29, two former eBay execs, David Harville, eBay’s former director of worldwide resiliency, and Jim Baugh, eBay’s former senior director of security and safety, each of who admitted to collaborating within the cyberstalking marketing campaign, can be sentenced, per the ruling of a Massachusetts choose as reported by Law360.

EBay, Wenig and Wymer weren’t charged within the prison case, and the civil case has been placed on pause whereas eBay discusses a possible settlement with the Steiners, in accordance with Law360.

EBay mentioned in a press release on the time: “The occasions from 2019 ought to by no means have occurred,” in accordance with the New York Occasions, including they’re “working to do what’s truthful and acceptable to deal with what the Seiners went by way of.” 

The Publish reached out for remark from eBay and a lawyer representing the Steiners, however didn’t instantly hear again.

Wenig resigned from eBay in September 2019. In court docket papers, he denied writing messages to staffers directing them to hold out makes an attempt at a take-down, and is requesting the case be dismissed, in accordance with the Occasions. Wenig, in 2020, mentioned he had “no information, no non-public understanding, no tacit approval” of the harassment marketing campaign, in a press release to Recode as reported by Vox. One other situation: Wenig left eBay “with out trigger,” which means he was entitled to a $40 million exit package deal, in accordance with the Occasions.

In the meantime, eBay fired Wymer “for trigger” in accordance with authorized papers obtained by the Occasions, which famous eBay didn’t publicly acknowledge it on the time. The corporate mentioned Wymer was axed for “inappropriate communications” amid the scandal. Wymer denied wrongdoing, issuing a press release to Recode saying: “I might by no means condone or take part in any such exercise.”