Natick couple was terrorized by U.S. tech giant. They spoke out on '60 Minutes'
NATICK — In 2019, Ina and David Steiner became the victims of a targeted attack of vicious harassment and online stalking by a group of eBay employees due to critical articles the couple posted on their e-commerce newsletter.
Several eBay Inc. employees are in federal prison and the couple, who ran the website EcommerceBytes, have filed a federal lawsuit against eBay and several current and former employees.
The pair recently sat down with "60 Minutes," and described what happened. The segment aired Sunday night.
"It... it... it felt like corporate terrorism, because we were terrorized. And it was very calculated. It was very vicious," Ina Steiner told reporter Sharyn Alfonsi, according to a transcript of the segment.
Her husband added: "One of the things that we also learned was what sadistic pleasure these people took in terrorizing us."
During the harassment, the couple were sent packages containing disturbing items such as dead insects and horror movie pig masks. Items were also "accidentally" sent to their neighbor's homes.
They also told "60 Minutes" that they were signed for adult-oriented newsletters that bombarded their emails.The harassment continued on social media, such as Twitter, and then progressed to phone calls.
"Somebody left a voicemail for us, saying they couldn't fulfill the order for a wet specimen," said Ina Steiner. "And David was the one they called. And he said, 'What is a wet specimen?' And... and it was a pig fetus. That's when I really... my heart sank, because I thought, who might be angry at something I wrote? And I couldn't figure it out. I mean, we were... we were desperately trying to think, 'Who could it be?'"
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Also interviewed were Natick Police Detectives Jason Sutherland and John Haswell, who investigated the case. In one incident, Sutherland said, David Steiner got a photo of a license plate of a suspicious vehicle. The license plate was registered to a car rental business and was tied to one of the people ultimately convicted in her role of the harassment. He said he called the Steiners when he got the woman's name.
"I said, 'Are you familiar with the name?' They weren't. And while I was saying that, I think... Mrs. Steiner did the... her own little search and said, 'Oh, my God... she works for eBay," Sutherland said on "60 Minutes."
Former U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling called the case "unique," during the segment.
"What was unique about this case is that you had relatively senior management at a Fortune 500 company... who thought it was a good idea to launch what can only be described as a campaign of terror targeting a middle-aged couple in Natick," he said.
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Although there were emails from former eBay CEO Devin Wenig about eCommerceBytes and a text message from him that said, "Take her down," there was not enough evidence that he or eBay's chief communications officer, Steve Wymer, had anything directly to do with the harassment, Lelling said.
Wymer is alleged to have told the head of eBay security, James Baugh, "I want to see ashes." Baugh was the alleged ringleader of the harassment campaign.
"People say things like that all the time," Lelling said on the show. "Especially senior people in companies. It's not the same as, 'I am knowingly joining a criminal conspiracy to cyberstalk a couple in Natick.' People use loose talk like that all the time."
David Steiner did not buy that argument.
"Let me ask you somethin'. If you have a dog that is trained to attack and then you give them the command, 'Take her down,' aren't you as responsible for the damage that happens?," he said.
'Misconduct of these former employees was wrong'
No one from eBay appeared on "60 Minutes," but the company provided a statement.
"The misconduct of these former employees was wrong, and we will do what is fair and appropriate to try to address what the Steiners went through. The events from 2019 should never have happened, and as eBay expressed to the Steiners, we are very sorry for what they endured.
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"As noted by the U.S. Attorney's Office when this matter first came to light, eBay cooperated fully with the government's investigation, noting that 'eBay was extremely cooperative with the investigation in helping state and federal authorities figure out what had happened and collect evidence of the crime.'"
Wenig also did not appear on the show, but also provided a statement.
"I am appalled at what happened, and my heart goes out to the Steiners. They did not deserve what happened to them in any way. The outrageous actions of a few former employees do not represent my values or the company I led for many years. Had I been aware of what was going on, I would have stopped it immediately."
Based in San Jose, California, eBay operates online marketplace platforms that connect buyers and sellers internationally. The company posted 2022 sales of nearly $10 billion.
The Steiners' civil case against eBay is continuing in U.S. District Court.
Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Natick couple terrorized by eBay employees featured on '60 Minutes'
