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EBay

and several former executives have agreed to pay nearly $56 million in a settlement with a Massachusetts couple who were the target of a bizarre harassment and stalking scheme.

The couple, Ina and David Steiner, had been subjected to a "terror campaign" in 2019 that was "designed to stop their reporting," attorneys for the Steiners said in a release. The Steiners run eCommercebytes, a website closely followed by online sellers, which had angered eBay executives who didn't like its tone and content.

Communications revealed in a 2024 criminal complaint brought by federal prosecutors showed senior eBay executives exchanging messages about Ina Steiner, including one where former CEO Devin Wenig said to "take her down."