eBay Agrees To Pay Nearly $50 Million To Settle Bizarre Lawsuit After Employees Sent Massachusetts Couple Live Roaches and A Fetal Pig
A Massachusetts couple who ran an e-commerce newsletter started receiving anonymous packages containing live cockroaches, a fetal pig, and death threats, and it took years before the full scope of who orchestrated the campaign against them came to light.
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eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY | EBAY Price Prediction) and several of its former executives have agreed to pay $48.7 million in direct compensation to David and Ina Steiner, the Natick, Massachusetts couple who were targeted in 2019 with anonymous deliveries that included live cockroaches, live spiders, a preserved fetal pig, a bloody pig Halloween mask, a funeral wreath, and a book about surviving the death of a spouse. The settlement package, which also carries $7 million in charitable donations, including to organizations supporting First Amendment rights, brings the total value of the agreement to roughly $56 million.
A Harassment Campaign Straight Out of Fiction
The Steiners, who ran EcommerceBytes, an e-commerce industry newsletter that had published coverage critical of eBay, were also subjected to cyberstalking, death threats, and in-person surveillance by former eBay workers. They alleged the barrage was a coordinated conspiracy to intimidate and silence them in order to stifle their reporting on eBay.
The couple’s civil complaint framed the effort as retaliation for their journalism. Their stated goal in pursuing the case, as reported in the settlement coverage, was to “prevent similar corporate misconduct and protect First Amendment rights.” Notably, the deal contains no confidentiality provision, leaving the Steiners free to speak publicly about what happened.
The Criminal Case Came First
The civil settlement follows a criminal prosecution that was resolved years earlier. Seven former eBay employees were criminally charged in 2020 in connection with the campaign. Most defendants pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy and cyberstalking, and were sentenced to prison terms or home confinement. James Baugh, eBay’s former senior director of safety and security, was sentenced to nearly five years in prison.
Former CEO Devin Wenig resigned in 2019, reportedly retaining $17 million in annual compensation and $40 million in severance. Wenig was not criminally charged, and has stated the harassment was “deliberately done in secret and without my knowledge.” Former Chief Communications Officer Steve Wymer and former Senior Vice President Wendy Jones were also not criminally charged. eBay had previously paid a $3 million criminal penalty to federal authorities.
Who Pays What
The direct compensation breaks down as follows: approximately $46.15 million from eBay itself; $2 million from former CEO Devin Wenig; $500,000 from former executive Wendy Jones; $50,000 from former Chief Communications Officer Steve Wymer. In statements accompanying the deal, eBay expressed “deep apologies” for the “reprehensible” actions of former staff.
A Financial Coda After the Criminal Reckoning
For eBay, which carries a market capitalization of roughly $51.19 billion and posted $11.6 billion in trailing twelve-month revenue, the payout is modest relative to the balance sheet. Shares closed at $115.30 on July 29, 2026, and the stock is up 33.2% year to date. The civil settlement caps a saga that already produced federal convictions and prison sentences, closing the financial chapter on a case whose criminal reckoning arrived years ago.
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AJ has spent the past 10 years writing about financial markets at The Motley Fool. His coverage centers on technology stocks and the broader macroeconomic trends, from interest rates to geopolitics, that shape where markets are headed next. AJ is drawn to the stories where big-picture economics and individual companies collide.
