eBay and three of its former executives have agreed to a $55.7 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit by a Massachusetts couple who faced a targeted stalking and harassment campaign that involved sending live cockroaches to their house.

The couple, David and Ina Steiner, announced the settlement Monday, bringing an end to a five-year long lawsuit. In a press release on their ecommerce news site EcommerceBytes, their lawyers, Scalli Murphy Law, said that the plaintiffs would receive $48.7 million in compensation.

This includes $46.15 million from eBay, $2 million from former eBay chief executive Devin Wenig, $500,000 from former eBay vice president of global operations Wendy Jones, and $50,000 from former eBay chief communications officer Steve Wymer.

eBay will also give $6 million to various charitable organisations and Wenig will donate $1 million to a First Amendment rights charity on behalf of Ina Steiner.

The settlement brings a close to one of the largest corporate scandals in eBay’s history. In 2019, the Steiners were targeted by several senior eBay employees who were unhappy with their coverage of the company on EcommerceBytes.

The group, some of whom received prison sentences as long as 57 months, sent the couple a mask covered in pig’s blood, live cockroaches and a book on dealing with the loss of a spouse.

Other actions included sending the couple a wreath, sending pornography to their neighbour’s house under David Steiner’s name, and flying from their offices in California to their home in Natick, Massachusetts in order to watch the couple and attempt to place a tracking device on their car.

After the couple determined they were being followed, they contacted local police. Members of eBay’s security team then deleted digital evidence, falsified records and provided investigators with misleading information in an attempt to hide eBay’s involvement.

Despite this, six former eBay employees and contractors were charged by the federal government in 2020. eBay itself was charged with six felonies in 2024, after which the company agreed to pay $3 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement, the maximum fine available for such offences.

The campaign followed Weing sending Wymer a message saying it was time to “take her down” referring to Ina. Weing has not been criminally charged, and denies knowledge of or involvement in the harassment campaign.

The Steiner’s lawyer said that they “believe this resolution sends a clear message that corporations and their executives cannot engage in this type of misconduct without facing significant consequences.”

In a statement required by the settlement, eBay said: “As we have long stated, what the Steiners were subjected to by former eBay employees in 2019 was wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened.”

The statement went on to condemn the actions of those who perpetrated criminal conduct against the couple and extend its deepest apologies to the couple, adding that the actions are not representative of eBay’s culture or employees today.

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