This story seems like something out of a bad "Law & Order" episode, but it's real life.
David and Ina Steiner, a couple in their 50s from Natick, Massachusetts, have a long-running eCommerce newsletter/website, which dates back to the 1990s. When the newsletter became increasingly critical of eBay in the mid-late 2010s, eBay's security team decided it was time to take action to silence them.
However, they didn't receive the ominous legal threats you'd expect. Instead, members of the team engaged in a campaign of cyberstalking, harassment, threats, phony ads with their address, and merchandise (including dead animals) shipped to their home.
Here's the overall story: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/07/...ry-first-time/
The downfall of the harassers was their overaggression with physically following David Steiner. After doing this several times in rented vans, Steiner finally got a clear picture of a license plate, and they traced it back to an eBay employee who had recently flown into Boston for the duration of the harassment period.Anonymous and profane demands that the couple stop reporting about eBay; the publication of their home address on Twitter and threats to visit them there; the delivery of live insects and a funeral wreath; Craigslist posts inviting all comers to sexual encounters at their home; a black van that followed the husband as he drove around Natick, and so much more.
Philip Cooke, the former senior manager of Security Operations for eBay’s Global Security Team, was sentenced to 18 months in prison. It was the first sentencing of anyone involved in the case. Cooke was the leader of the harassment scheme, but was allegedly doing so at the direction of his boss, James Baugh, who is awaiting trial.
Several others have pled guilty, and will be sentenced shortly. Surprisingly, three of the seven people arrested and convicted were young women.
There's also a pending civil suit over this. eBay looks particularly bad because they actually promoted Cooke after their investigation of the matter, despite apparent knowledge of his role in the scheme. Cooke was also a former Santa Clara police officer.
Given the guilty pleas in the criminal case, the high level figures involved, and the promotion of Cooke, I predict a nice settlement for the couple. They deserve it.
Do you hate eBay even more now?