eBay, Executives Slammed With Lawsuit Over Alleged Death, Stalking and Torture Threats Against Couple12-count民事诉讼指责eBay和它的印版r officials of engaging "in a systematic campaign to emotionally and psychologically torture" a Massachusetts couple.

ByEntrepreneur Staff

Bloomberg | Getty Images

eBay and a number of its former executives are being sued by a Massachusetts couple who allege the company, along with Progressive F.O.R.C.E. Concepts, LLC, "engaged in a coordinated effort to intimidate, threaten to kill, torture, terrorize, stalk and silence" them to stifle their reporting on the company.

Thecomplaint, filed in United States District Court, identifies David and Ina Steiner as a couple who run EcommerceBytes, a small trade publication. They "report about various ecommerce companies, including eBay, in an effort to assist ecommerce sellers," per the complaint.

12-count民事诉讼指责eBay和它的印版r officials of engaging "in a systematic campaign to emotionally and psychologically torture" them and cites written instruction from Devin Wenig, then-CEO of eBay, telling other employees to stop the Steiners' reporting andsaying, "...I want to see ashes. As long as it takes. Whatever it takes."

Related:Learn How to Start a Side Hustle Selling on Amazon and eBay

What followed, the Steiners allege, was "an online intimidation campaign," threats, and "disturbing package deliveries, which included live spiders, cockroaches, a bloody pig mask, a funeral wreath, and a book entitled, "Grief Diaries: Surviving Loss of a Spouse' sent directly to David Steiner."

The packages, they say, "often were accompanied by ominous simultaneous Twitter messages" that included vulgar language. The Steiners also accuse the defendants of stalking them and tailing them in rental vehicles as well as attempting to break into the couple's garage to install a GPS tracker on a vehicle.

Ultimately, the Steiners say, they installed security cameras in their home and slept in separate bedrooms so that if one were attacked, the other could escape and call for help.

Related:Time to Buy eBay Stock on a Lowered Bar Opportunity

Finally, per the complaint, the officials "plotted to destroy evidence, mislead the investigation, and divert attention away from eBay" on learning that the local police department in Massachusetts was investigating the Steiners' concerns.

In addition to Wymer, the complaint names James Baugh, David Harville, Brian Gilbert, Stephanie Popp, Stephanie Stockwell, Philip Cooke, and Veronica Zea and an eBay contractor employed by PFC, "most of whom, on information and belief directly or indirectly reported to eBay's Head of Security and Operations." Cooke, Gilbert, Popp, Stockwell and Zea pleaded guilty to an Information in Federal District Court and Baugh and Harville were indicted as a result of what the suit calls their "conspiracy to intimidate, threaten, torture, terrorize, stalk and silence the Steiners, and for misleading and tampering with the investigation."

Wymer's eBay employment was terminated, the suit notes, but hewalked awaywith a $57 million severance package.

Wavy Line
Entrepreneur Staff

Entrepreneur Staff

Editor

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business Solutions

Learn to Program an AI Chatbot for Your Business in This $30 Course

Get back-to-school savings on this AI coding course.

Business Ideas

55 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2023

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2023.

领导

This Common Leadership Habit Will Harm Your Credibility. Are You Guilty of It?

As leaders, we're always looking for ways to build credibility among peers and employees. But this easy-to-make mistake can ruin it in an instant.

Data & Recovery

Get 1TB of Cloud Storage for Life for $119.97 With This Back-to-School Sale

This 1TB Cloud Storage Solution Is Only $119.97 for Back to School

Thought Leaders

Mark Cuban Says These are the Dumbest Things Entrepreneurs Do

Whatever you do, don't do the first thing on this list. Or the second. Definitely not the third.