By Jon Styf  |  January 17, 2024

Category: Legal News
Close up of eBay signage, representing the Ebay cyberstalking penalty.
(Photo Credit: JHVEPhoto/Shutterstock)

EBay cyberstalking overview:ย 

  • Who: EBay agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty over charges of harassment and intimidation from 2019.ย 
  • Why: EBay executives were accused of conspiracy to harass and intimidate the publishers of an online newsletter covering the company.
  • Where: The eBay cyberstalking charges were filed in federal court in Massachusetts.

EBay agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty to settle accusations that executives led a conspiracy to harass, stalk and intimidate the publishers of an online newsletter that covered the company.

EBay entered into a deferred prosecution program on charges of stalking through interstate travel, stalking through electronic communications services, witness tampering and obstruction of justice.

โ€œEBay engaged in absolutely horrific, criminal conduct. The companyโ€™s employees and contractors involved in this campaign put the victims through pure hell, in a petrifying campaign aimed at silencing their reporting and protecting the eBay brand,โ€ acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy said in a statement about the eBay cyberstalking accusations.

EBay executives allegedly ran a campaign of harassment against Ina and David Steiner, owners of the EcommerceBytes newsletter, throughout fall 2019.

EBay cyberstalking included sending pig fetus, pornographic magazines

The eBay penalty comes after accusations that it sent items to the Steiners’ home, including everything from a pig fetus and live spiders to a Halloween pig mask. The eBay criminal charges say the group ordered pornographic magazine subscriptions in the Steinersโ€™ name to their neighborsโ€™ homes.

EBay is also accused of posting online advertisements for sexual encounters with the couple, sending people to the Steinersโ€™ home address.

The eBay conspirators โ€œworked together to harass and intimidate the Steiners, and to place them under surveillance with the intent to harass and intimidate them, through repeated and hostile Twitter messages, deliveries of unwanted โ€” and in some instances disturbing โ€” items to the Steiners’ home, and travel to Massachusetts to conduct physical surveillance,โ€ according to the eBay criminal complaint. โ€œThe individual defendants’ conduct caused, attempted to cause, and would reasonably have been expected to cause substantial emotional distress to the Steiners.โ€

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)ย filed a lawsuit in New York federal court in October accusing eBay of selling illegal items that range from emission control devices to pesticides that break standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Have you ever read EcommerceBytes and its coverage of eBay? Let us know in the comments.


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8 thoughts onEBay to pay $3M criminal penalty for cyberstalking

  1. Teresa Williams says:

    i believe i have been cyber stalked ..

  2. Teresa Williams says:

    yes i do believe i have been cyber stalked ..

    1. Douglas Grieve says:

      Please add me, I was stalked and handled in a horrible manner. The AI system they use to help you post items changed the title of the items by model number, even though it says description and due to that I ended up with a $900 return on to items that were wrong posted. I explained it all to them,and they owed me 300 on guarantee for shipper that they stalled me on then said the time limit was up and then restricted my account. But still contact me about there bill that is not actually owed. They also told me to ship a camera $185 after they forced a refund and said it would work out. It didn’t even though I said if they refunded and I didn’t have a buyer there was no legal way to get him to pay.. then they denied any of it happened when I pointed out that it was delivered. I stated that a $7 cable i bought never came and they said it showed as delivered, I said so does my camera so pay me for that off the negative balance. They refused.

  3. Barry Sandinureyes says:

    I’ve read EcommerceBytes. It was very interesting.

  4. Marc alan reichbart says:

    Please add me

  5. Pamela J Battle says:

    please add me i had emails sent

  6. Marie goddard says:

    Please add me

  7. ronnee says:

    I have been getting emails stating that my PW was changed. Several times. Please add me

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