NOWCASTNewsCenter 5 at 12:30\ \ Watch on Demand
Advertisement
Natick, Massachusetts couple agrees to $56 million settlement in case tied to eBay's bizarre deliveries, harassment campaign
Advertisement
Updated: 6:27 AM EDT Jul 28, 2026
The Associated Press
Natick, Massachusetts couple agrees to $56 million settlement in case tied to eBay's bizarre deliveries, harassment campaign
Updated: 6:27 AM EDT Jul 28, 2026
The Associated Press
BOSTON —
A Massachusetts couple who were subjected to threats and bizarre anonymous deliveries — including live insects, a funeral wreath and a bloody pig Halloween mask — by former eBay Inc. employees have agreed to a $56 million settlement.
In their 2021 lawsuit filed in Boston federal court, David and Ina Steiner said that the company engaged in a conspiracy to “intimidate, threaten to kill, torture, terrorize, stalk and silence them” in order to “stifle their reporting on eBay.”
Advertisement
The Natick residents, who run EcommerceBytes, an online newsletter focused on the e-commerce industry, said they were subjected to cyberstalking, death threats and in-person surveillance by former eBay workers.
\
eBay to pay $3M over employees who sent bloody pig mask, cockroaches to Natick couple
"From the beginning, our clients wanted to uncover the truth, protect journalists and publishers, hold those responsible accountable, deter future corporate misconduct, and help ensure others would never have to endure what they experienced," a lawyer for the couple said.
When the suit was filed, the company said “the misconduct of these former employees was wrong,” and that it would “do what is fair and appropriate to try to address what the Steiners went through.”
In 2020, federal prosecutors charged seven former eBay employees, alleging they carried out a coordinated harassment campaign against the couple after becoming angered by coverage in the couple’s online newsletter. Most of the defendants pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy and cyberstalking and were later sentenced to prison terms or home confinement.
In 2024, eBay Inc. agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty under a deferred prosecution agreement with federal authorities.
Federal prosecutors have said the harassment included anonymous deliveries of items like live cockroaches and spiders, a funeral wreath, and a bloody pig face mask to the couple’s home. The employees also sent pornographic magazines with the husband’s name on them to a neighbor’s home and planned to break into the couple’s garage to install a GPS device on their car.
\
\
Make WCVB a preferred source on Google\
Add Preferred Source
Share
Infinite Scroll Enabled
Top Picks
\
\
LIVE: Lindsey Graham being honored in Capitol memorial services
\
\
Video shows teen lifeguard rescuing young child from rough surf at California beach
\
\
Entangled humpback whale cut free from Dungeness crab gear in California
\
\
Planning a trip to Spain or France? Here's what officials are telling travelers