Former eBay execs get jail time in cyberstalking case involving Twitter threats and fetal pig deliveries | Engadget

Two of the eBay executives who have been charged for staging a cyberstalking marketing campaign in opposition to the creators of the eCommerceBytes e-newsletter have been sentenced to prison. The Justice Department says that these execs, together with 5 different former eBay staff, labored collectively to intimidate David and Ina Steiner. They apparently hatched a scheme concentrating on the Steiners shortly after Ina revealed an article of their e-newsletter a few lawsuit eBay filed accusing Amazon of poaching its sellers. David mentioned the folks concerned of their harassment made their lives “a living hell.”

James Baugh, eBay’s former senior director of security and safety, was sentenced to virtually 5 years in jail and was ordered to pay a advantageous of $40,000. Meanwhile, David Harville, eBay’s former Director of Global Resiliency and the final particular person within the case who pleaded responsible, acquired a two-year sentence and was ordered to pay a $20,000 advantageous. 

According to the DOJ, the group despatched disturbing deliveries to the couple’s residence, together with “a book on surviving the death of a spouse, a bloody pig mask, a fetal pig, a funeral wreath and live insects.” They additionally despatched the couple threatening Twitter messages and posted on Craigslist to ask the general public to partake in sexual encounters on the victims’ residence. Authorities additionally mentioned that Baugh, Harville and one other eBay worker monitored the couple’s residence in particular person with the intention of attaching a GPS tracker to their automobile. 

Based on the case’s court docket paperwork, David Wenig, who was eBay’s CEO on the time, despatched one other prime exec a message that mentioned “If you are ever going to take her down … now is the time” half-hour after Ina’s publish was revealed. In flip, that government despatched Wenig’s message to Baugh, including that Ina was a “biased troll who needs to get BURNED DOWN.” As The Washington Post notes, Wenig was not charged within the case however is dealing with a civil lawsuit from the Steiners, who accused him of making an attempt to “intimidate, threaten to kill, torture, terrorize, stalk and silence them.” He denied any information of the harassment marketing campaign. 

As for Baugh and Harville, each requested the Steiners for forgiveness, in keeping with The Post. “I take 100% responsibility for this, and there is no excuse for what I have done. The bottom line is simply this: If I had done the right thing and been strong enough to make the right choice, we wouldn’t be here today, and for that I am truly sorry,” Baugh mentioned.

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