eBay reaches $55.7 million settlement with Massachusetts couple that was "terrorized" in stalking scandal

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July 28, 2026 / 10:30 AM EDT

/ CBS Boston

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eBay has agreed to pay $55.7 million in a settlement with a Massachusetts couple that was the victim of a bizarre harassment and cyberstalking campaign orchestrated by former employees of the company.Ina and David Steiner, who run the trade publication ECommerceBytes from their home in Natick, started receiving online threats and upsetting deliveries to their home in 2019, including a bloody pig mask, live spiders and a book on surviving the death of a spouse. Pornographic magazines addressed to David Steiner were purposefully sent to their neighbors, and their home was listed on Craigslist as a nightly destination for "singles, couples and swingers."Law enforcement was able to trace a rental van that followed David Steiner one day back to an eBay employee, and in 2020, the Department of Justice charged seven eBay executives and employees with cyberstalking. Some executives even went to prison for their role in the scheme.