eBay fined $3 million for sending reviewers live cockroaches and spiders

After a group of eBay employees behaving like trashy John Waters characters – mailing people live spiders and cockroaches – the company is paying the price.

The Ministry of Justice is charging eBay $3 million as a criminal penalty for conducting a campaign of harassment and intimidation against a Massachusetts couple that included sending them creepy-crawlies and other stomach-churning packages. Other items included a bloody pig mask, a fetal pig, a funeral wreath and a book on mourning the loss of a spouse. The employees also threatened to visit their home and posted a Craigslist ad inviting people to the couple's home for sex. The incident, according to a deposit published Thursday, took place in 2019, and the Justice Department says the spam was in retaliation for the couple writing negatively about eBay in an e-newsletter.

Between August 5 and August 23, 2019, eBay's former Senior Director of Safety and Security, Jim Baugh, and six members of eBay's security team targeted David and Ina Steiner for publishing a newsletter called EcommerceBytes that criticized the auction site , according to the filing. One of the stories Baugh objected to focused on a lawsuit eBay filed against Amazon, accusing it of seller theft. The harassment campaign began when Baugh and the Steiners began communicating with each other.

The Steiners eventually contacted the local police to complain of harassment. Baugh originally denied his and his employees' actions, and they deleted messages they sent to each other, according to the filing.

The company, which has since admitted wrongdoing, was indicted on multiple counts of stalking, one for witness tampering and another for obstruction of justice. The $3 million fine is the legal maximum for these offenses. eBay must also hire an independent compliance monitor for the next three years. The company has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement, which may drop the charges if they stick to the deal.

“eBay engaged in absolutely egregious, criminal conduct,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy said in a statement. “The company employees and contractors involved in this campaign put the victims through pure hell, in a petrifying campaign aimed at silencing their reports and protecting eBay's brand. We have left no stone unturned in our mission to hold accountable every individual who has turned victims' worlds upside down through an endless nightmare of threatening and criminal acts. The investigation led to the felony convictions of seven people, all former eBay employees or contractors, and the ringleader was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison.”

“The company's conduct in 2019 was wrong and reprehensible,” eBay CEO Jamie Iannone said in a statement. “Since eBay first learned of the events of 2019, eBay has cooperated fully and extensively with law enforcement. We continue to offer our deepest apologies to the Steiners for what they endured. Since these events occurred, new leaders have joined the company and eBay has strengthened its policies, procedures, controls and training. eBay remains committed to upholding high standards of conduct and ethics and making things right with the Steiners.”

In a witness statement released Thursday, the Steiners wrote about the crimes they suffered and the trip here. “In 2022, we were devastated to learn that the government had not interviewed eBay's top executives as part of its criminal investigation,” it read in part. “As victims of despicable crimes intended to destroy our lives and livelihoods, we felt it was vital that we do everything in our power to ensure that this never happens to anyone else. eBay's actions against us have had a devastating and lasting impact on us – emotionally, psychologically, physically, reputationally and financially – and we have vigorously pressed federal prosecutors for further charges to prevent corporate executives and board members from creating a culture where stalking and harassment are tolerated or encouraged.”

Baugh was sentenced to 57 months in prison on charges of stalking and witness tampering, among other offenses. plea agreement in September 2022. Other former eBay employees were sentenced to between 12 and 24 months in either prison or house arrest, and in some cases both. One of the employees, Brian Gilbert, is still awaiting sentencing.

eBay CEO at the time of the harassment, Devin Wenig, stepped down from his role in 2019. He was not criminally charged in connection with the case.

The Steiners have also filed a lawsuit against eBay and former employees, including Wenig, in federal court. The trial is scheduled for March 2025.

In 2019, Veronica Zea, an intelligence analyst contractor at the time of the incident, expressed remorse for her actions in New York Times feature. “It's easy to say, 'Why didn't I leave?' he said. “But right now I was terrified and stuck. I'm so sorry. I regret playing even a small role here. If I could go back in time and prevent the Steiners from experiencing this in any way, I would in a heartbeat.” He was sentenced to one year of house arrest.