eBay Inc. has agreed to pay nearly $50 million to a Massachusetts couple who were targeted with death threats and a barrage of disturbing anonymous deliveries by former company employees, resolving more than six years of litigation stemming from one of the most notorious corporate harassment cases in recent memory.
The settlement with David and Ina Steiner, founders of the e-commerce newsletter EcommerceBytes, was detailed in documents released Tuesday. It includes an additional $7 million in charitable donations directed in part to organizations supporting First Amendment rights. Filings referenced in the case place the total value of the resolution at roughly $56 million.
The Steiners, residents of Natick, said they were subjected to a coordinated campaign designed to intimidate and silence them over their reporting on the online marketplace. The deliveries sent to their home included live insects, a funeral wreath, a bloody pig Halloween mask and other unsettling items intended to instill fear.
“This was not only an attack and campaign of harassment against two people; it was also an attack on free speech and freedom of the press,” said Christopher Murphy of Massachusetts-based Scalli Murphy Law, who represented the couple.
The agreement contains no confidentiality provision, a condition the Steiners insisted upon so they could speak openly about their ordeal. Murphy said the outcome sends a warning that efforts by large corporations to suppress speech and the press will not be tolerated.
The harassment originated in 2019, when the couple’s newsletter published coverage that displeased eBay executives. Several former employees were later criminally charged, and multiple individuals pleaded guilty to charges tied to the scheme, which involved surveillance, threatening messages and the anonymous shipments.
The Steiners filed their civil lawsuit in Boston federal court in 2021, alleging the company engaged in a conspiracy to “intimidate, threaten to kill, torture, terrorize, stalk and silence them.” A tentative settlement reached in February collapsed before it could be finalized, prompting the couple to ask a federal judge in June to reopen the case as it neared trial.
The saga has stood as a cautionary example of corporate misconduct, unfolding even as eBay has worked to rebuild its brand and reassure investors. The company recently drew a strong market response following a robust quarterly earnings report and upbeat outlook that boosted its shares.
eBay has previously acknowledged the conduct of the former employees and said those responsible acted contrary to the company’s values. The new agreement brings both the criminal and civil chapters of the matter to a close.
With the settlement finalized and no gag order in place, the Steiners are now free to publicly recount the years-long episode, which their attorney framed as a landmark test of press freedom against corporate pressure.