Former CIA Employee Working for Ebay Ran Bizarre Harassment Operation Against Couple, Company Will Pay $56 Million to Settle Lawsuit
July 28th, 2026Via: Boston Globe:
Almost seven years after a group of eBay employees harassed and stalked Ina and David Steiner, the Natick couple on Monday agreed to a final $55.7 million settlement of their lawsuit against the company and some of its former top executives.
…
The deal could bring some solace to the Steiners, whose quiet suburban life was ripped apart in 2019 when people working for eBay bombarded them with online threats and bizarre deliveries including a bloody pig mask, live spiders, and a funeral wreath. The scheme, which also included following the couple around town and trying to attach a tracker to their car, started after eBay’s former CEO, Devin Wenig, complained about coverage of the company on the Steiners’ web site, EcommerceBytes.
…
Wymer in turn relayed the complaints to Jim Baugh, a former CIA employee who eBay had tapped to head its global security unit. Baugh hatched the harassment campaign from his unit, including sending the Steiners threatening messages from fake Twitter accounts, live spiders and roaches, a bloody pig mask like the one in the horror movie “Saw,” and a funeral wreath.
On Aug. 15, 2019, Baugh and several of his employees traveled to Boston. They tried to install a GPS tracking device on the Steiners’ car and followed David Steiner around Natick.
After the Steiners reported to local police the license plate number of the rental car the eBay team was using to stalk them, the scheme unraveled.
Prosecutors charged Baugh and six of his subordinates with charges related to the stalking and harassment and all pleaded guilty. Baugh was sentenced to 57 months in prison.
