This was reported by the US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts will pay $3 million in fines to settle criminal charges after a campaign of harassment by several former executives. Several former employees targeted the couple for writing a newsletter critical of the company.
Department of Justice two counts of stalking while traveling interstate, two counts of stalking via electronic communications services, one count of tampering with a witness and one count of obstruction of justice. The $3 million fine was the maximum for the statutory offences. As part of a deferred prosecution agreement with authorities, eBay must also improve its compliance program and maintain independent corporate compliance monitoring for three years.
The U.S. attorney’s office says eBay “accepted a detailed reading of all relevant facts surrounding its conduct.” In August 2019, Jim Baugh, the company’s former chief safety and security officer, and six others v. Ina and David Steiner of Massachusetts. The pair wrote about the eBay litigation, and senior figures at the company are said to be frustrated by the negative coverage.
Baugh and his accomplices teased the couple by sending them, among other things, a fetal pig, a funeral wreath, and live spiders and cockroaches. According to prosecutors, three former eBay employees went to the Steiners’ home. . The campaign also involved sending offensive messages via Twitter (now X).
Baugh and several others and . Another admitted to participating in the campaign, but has not yet been sentenced.
In a victim impact statement The Steiners wrote that “eBay’s actions against us have had a damaging and lasting impact on us emotionally, psychologically, physically, reputationally and financially, and we have strongly pushed federal prosecutors for further charges to discourage corporate executives and board members from creating a culture of prosecution.” and where harassment is tolerated or encouraged.”
The couple and their publisher, Steiner Associates E-commerce Bytes newsletter filed a civil suit against eBay and former employees. The trial is set for March next year.
