TECH NEWS – We’ve heard of some corporate malfeasance, but not quite as gross as what this eBay executive allowed himself to get away with.

As reported by the Boston Globe (article may be paywalled), James Baugh, eBay’s former head of security and safety, was sentenced yesterday to nearly five years in prison for carrying out a bizarre harassment campaign against bloggers David and Ina Steiner. Baugh is one of seven former eBay executives and senior employees who pleaded guilty in connection with the case.

eBay is best understood as a place to get cheap second-hand PC parts, or even absurdly overpriced collector’s big boxes. Weird Al Yankovic graced the digital marketplace in a more innocent age with a lovely parodic song. So it is a little shocking to read about the truly gangster intimidation campaign devised by his senior staff.

The Steins, who publish an online shopping-focused newsletter called EcommerceBytes, published a series of articles critical of eBay in 2019. Baugh and eBay employees retaliated, allegedly at the demand of even higher-ups, including then-CEO Devin Wenig.

According to The Guardian, the Stein’s were sent threatening items such as boxes full of insects, a bloody Halloween pig mask and a funeral wreath. The eBay team also harassed the Steiners with sock-puppet social media accounts, sent pornography addressed to David Steiner to the couple’s neighbours, and even doxxed the couple, advertising fake yard sales and the like.

In my opinion, the height of the absurdity was when Baugh and eBay’s former global resilience director David Harville (who pleaded guilty in May) allegedly flew across the country to the Steiner’s residence near Boston. According to the prosecution, Baugh and Harville planned to plant a GPS tracker on the couple’s car, but a locked garage door thwarted their plan.

For his part, Baugh claims he received instructions from eBay’s top executives, including former CEO Wenig. According to NPR, Wenig sent a message to a fellow executive about an article by Ina Steiner that read, “If you ever want to bring her down… now is the time”.

Boston, MA – September 29: James Baugh arrives for sentencing. Two former eBay executives arrived at Moakley Federal Court for sentencing in their cyber-harassment case. They were convicted of threatening Natick couple Ina and David Steiner.

No criminal charges have been laid against Wenig regarding the stalking, although the couple is facing a civil suit. Wenig resigned his position in 2019 and claims he was unaware of the conspiracy.

James Baugh appears to be the most senior eBay employee to face consequences in connection with the case. On 28 September, Ina Steiner published a post on EcommerceBytes addressing the situation and clarifying that she believes several senior executives and the company should be held accountable.

“Last year, David and I filed a civil RICO lawsuit against those we believe are responsible for the criminal campaign, including eBay’s former CEO Devin Wenig, CCO Steve Wymer and eBay itself,” Steiner wrote. “While it was a difficult decision, we firmly believe it was the right one”.