A group of eBay employees sent creepy "gifts" to a couplebecause they didn't like the way they were being referred to in a newsletter.
On Monday, six former eBay employees , some of whom held senior positions at the company, were charged with stalking and harassing a Massachusetts couple who maintained an e-commerce newsletter. The threats were apparently made after company executives believed the couple had made a negative report on the site.
The harassment began in August 2019, after the company's then-CEO complained about the newsletter's mention of the company's ongoing legal cases. Two of eBay's executives sent messages suggesting that the newsletter's editor should be "removed.".
The couple began receiving strange items, including a bloody pig mask, a funeral wreath, live bugs, and even pornographic material. The culmination was a book detailing how to "survive the death of a spouse.".
eBay's former senior director of global security and resiliency, James Baugh, former director of global resiliency and security operations David Harville, former senior manager of global intelligence Stephanie Popp and Brian Gilbert, a former police officer who was in charge of security at eBay's offices, were charged with harassing the couple. Two other former employees, Stephanie Stockwell and Veronica Zea, were also charged.
In a public statement, eBay denied any involvement by its current employees in the harassment and threats against the couple. The online auction site detailed some information about a private investigation it launched to look into the matter last year.
“Ebay was notified by law enforcement in August 2019 of suspicious actions by its security personnel toward a blogger who writes about the company and her spouse,” the company said in a statement. “Ebay immediately launched a comprehensive investigation … as a result of the investigation, eBay terminated all employees involved, including the company’s former Director of Communications, in September 2019.”
