Former eBay Executive Sentenced to Prison for Cyberstalking Campaign Campaign involved threatening emails, fake Craigslist posts and mysterious deliveries to bloggers
[https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/7231/A7IXn6.jpg]<https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/7231/A7IXn6.jpg> Former eBay executive James Baugh pleaded guilty in April to participating in a series of attacks on e-commerce bloggers David and Ina Steiner. Photo: Lane Turner/Associated Press. By Sebastian Herrera and Alyssa Lukpat for the Wall Street Journal Thursday, September 29, 2022 A former eBay Inc. executive at the center of a harassment campaign against two bloggers was sentenced in a Massachusetts federal court Thursday to four years and nine months in prison, authorities said. The former executive, James Baugh, pleaded guilty in April to participating in a series of attacks on the bloggers, David and Ina Steiner. The Steiners ran a niche e-commerce blog that eBay executives perceived as critical of the company, according to court documents. “This should serve as a strong reminder to all that holding positions of wealth and privilege does not absolve or shield criminals from accountability and incarceration,” U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins said Thursday in a statement. EBay didn’t respond to a request for comment. An attorney for Mr. Baugh declined to comment. Mr. Baugh was part of a team of security officials who in 2020 were charged with taking part in a weekslong harassment campaign that included threatening emails and tweets, fake posts on Craigslist and the mysterious deliveries against the Steiners, prosecutors said. Mr. Baugh later admitted that for several weeks in 2019, he conspired with other eBay employees to send the Steiners threatening messages and creepy deliveries in the mail, among other things. ---- Their campaign started with pranks inspired by the 1988 movie “Johnny Be Good.” The employees sent threatening emails and tweets to the Steiners. For more than two decades, the couple, who were professional collectors, ran a blog called EcommerceBytes that focused on eBay and Amazon.com Inc. Then Mr. Baugh and his co-workers escalated their tactics from messages to stalking and more sinister threats. The Steiners believed suspicious vehicles were tailing them near their home in the Boston suburb of Natick. They received mysterious packages, like a box of live cockroaches, a bloody pig mask and a book about surviving a spouse’s death. ---- Their campaign drew attention in 2020 after the employees, all members of eBay’s security team, were each charged with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses. The saga also involved two of eBay’s highest ranking officials, former eBay CEO Devin Wenig and his chief communications officer, Steve Wymer. The cyberstalking campaign was launched soon after the two executives embarked on a more aggressive public-relations strategy that included challenging publications such as EcommerceBytes. According to an affidavit, Mr. Wymer texted Mr. Wenig that they would “crush this lady,” referring to Ms. Steiner. ---- Mr. Wenig and Mr. Wymer, who are no longer at eBay, have said they would not condone or participate in any harassment campaign. The two haven’t been charged. ---- The Steiners last year sued eBay, Mr. Wenig and the other associates alleging violations under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The Steiners allege that the stalking campaign was not a rogue act by a few individuals, but one resembling organized crime by eBay and its top officials. “We believe everyone who played a role should be held accountable,” Ms. Steiner wrote in a blog post Wednesday. The case is ongoing. ---- A spokesman for Mr. Wenig said an independent investigation showed the former CEO had no knowledge of the harassment campaign, and that the prosecutors in the case made it clear that Mr. Baugh was responsible. “Devin never told anyone to do anything unethical or illegal and if he had known about it, he would have stopped it,” the spokesman said. One of the security officials, David Harville, on Thursday was sentenced to two years in prison. The other former eBay employees involved—Philip Cooke, Brian Gilbert, Stephanie Popp, Veronica Zea and Stephanie Stockwell—previously pleaded guilty for their roles in a conspiracy to cyberstalk. Mr. Cooke was sentenced last year to 18 months in prison. Mr. Gilbert, Ms. Popp, Ms. Zea and Ms. Stockwell haven’t yet been sentenced. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
