‘It has to be known what was done to us’: Natick couple harassed, stalked by eBay tell their story for the first time - The Boston Globe
David and Ina Steiner were terrorized for weeks in the summer of 2019 by a team of employees from Internet giant eBay. Here is their account of the events, which have led to criminal charges and a civil lawsuit.
www.bostonglobe.com
Natick resident David Steiner was puttering in his garage on a sunny Sunday morning when a neighbor walking a dog called out to him: "Hey, your fence has been tagged."
It was June of 2019, and he had no clue that the vandalism was just the start of a bizarre harassment campaign directed by senior executives at one of the country's leading Internet companies, eBay.
The Steiners initially created a paper newsletter with tips and tricks to help other sellers, but realized after one issue that an online publication made more sense, even in 1999. Thus was born AuctionBytes, later changed to EcommerceBytes.
Prosecutors said the 2019 campaign was sparked by complaints about articles in EcommerceBytes from eBay chief executive Wenig to his senior vice president and communications director, Steve Wymer. Wymer in turn complained to Baugh, who directed the team of eBay employees who worked for him to move against the Steiners, according to the federal criminal complaints.
The articles that drew the eBay executives' ire included reports about the CEO's salary and his comments on protecting e-sellers against fraud. Prosecutors revealed angry text messages about an April 10, 2019, article titled "eBay CEO Devin Wenig Earns 152 Times That of Employees," as well as "eBay CEO Says Sellers Can Expect Greater Protections," from May 31, 2019. Such articles generated reader comments that were highly critical of the company's leadership and its treatment of smaller sellers, who felt left behind in favor of larger retailers.
From the Steiners' point of view, not much happened for a few weeks after the graffiti. But on Aug. 8, 2019, they found their inboxes filling up with dozens of e-mail newsletters they hadn't signed up for, ranging from Heather's Irritable Bowel Syndrome News and The Satanic Temple to more disturbing fare featuring pornography and bondage. At the same time, a new Twitter account started bombarding Ina Steiner with expletive-laden taunts, she said.
Two days later, the phone rang. It was a taxidermy and animal parts shop in Arizona calling to ask about a purported order for the Steiners of a fetal pig. The Steiners' delivery address didn't match the billing address on the credit card used on the order, so the shop called to double check the order. Shaken, the Steiners canceled the order.
The couple decided to call the Natick police, and an officer arrived at their house to take a report, they said. As the officer was leaving the house, he noticed a package by the front door. While David and the officer continued talking, Ina opened the package in the kitchen. Seeing bits of hair and skin, she screamed. Inside was a mask of a bloody pig face, like the one worn by a crazed killer in the "Saw" horror movie series.
On Aug. 15, the campaign took a darker turn. Unbeknownst to the Steiners, a group of Baugh's employees had flown to Boston, rented two vehicles, and checked into the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, according to federal documents. They initially planned to plant a tracking device on the Steiners' car.
Suddenly, Ina saw a dark-colored Dodge Caravan driving up their street. "Black van, New York plates," she told David as the vehicle drove past. Then, later in the day, David noticed the same van pull out to follow him while he was in his car with a friend.
That night, David was awake at about 4:30 a.m., too stressed to sleep. He heard a car slowly driving up the street. A black sedan pulled up in front of their house. David yelled for Ina to call 911 as a man got out of the car and took what looked like a large leather case out of the back seat. David began screaming at the man that he'd called the police.
"We thought he had a gun," Ina recalled.
Instead, the eBay team had called for a prank pizza delivery at the Steiners' house, according to federal prosecutors. The delivery man put the pizza boxes on the ground and left, the couple said.
On Aug. 18, David became determined to break out and go to the grocery store. Again, a vehicle, a silver SUV, started following him. He pulled over and parked across the street from the police station. As the SUV slowly drove past, he propped Ina's iPhone up on the steering wheel and photographed the stalkers. "I'm determined to take a picture this time, I just kept hitting the button," he said.
With a full license plate number in hand from David's pictures, the Natick police quickly started to unravel the conspiracy. The vehicle tracked back to an eBay contractor who was staying at the Ritz.
The Steiners cooperated with the investigation, which soon included FBI agents and federal prosecutors. eBay's team knew it was in trouble, according to their own messages obtained later by federal prosecutors.
In June 2020, federal prosecutors announced criminal charges against six former eBay employees and a contractor. The company apologized to the Steiners, and in a lengthy statement said it had conducted its own investigation that had resulted in terminating all of the employees charged by the government plus communications chief Wymer, who has not been charged.
The investigation also found that former CEO Wenig had made "inappropriate communications" but did not have advance knowledge of the harassment and stalking. Wenig, who was not charged, was allowed to resign in September 2019 with a compensation package worth $57 million; the Steiner scandal was a "consideration" in his departure, the company has said.
On July 28 [2021], one of the defendants in the criminal case, Philip Cooke, the former senior manager of Security Operations for eBay's Global Security Team, was sentenced to 18 months in prison. It was the first sentencing of anyone involved in the case.
That's some crazy shit
