An American couple have been awarded nearly $56 million by eBay after years of stalking and receiving threatening packages, including insects and books on surviving a death of a loved one.

Ina and David Steiner, who run an e-commerce website EcommerceBytes, were targeted by eBay executives after writing a series of negative articles about the company.

In a recently agreed out-of-court settlement, former eBay will donate to free-speech charities and will pay the couple directly.

On The Pat Kenny Show, Chris Murphy, a lawyer with Scalli Murphy Law, who helped the Steiners achieve justice, described the harassment the couple faced.

He said that the couple began receiving abusive and threatening anonymous direct messages, followed by “embarrassing deliveries,” including pornography – both to the couple themselves and to neighbours, apparently in the couple’s names.

Deliveries became sinister, as Mr. Murphy described David receiving a book on how to survive the death of your spouse. Further packages included boxes of spiders, other insects, and attempts to send a “pig foetus.”

eBay employees began spraying graffiti on the Steiners’ property, and stalking the Steiners. David and Ina were left fearing that “they were going to be kidnapped, tortured, and killed.”

Breakthrough

Mr. Murphy explained that the Steiners figured out eBay was behind this harassment after the van’s, that had been following the couple, licence plate was traced back to an employee.

The FBI became involved in the case and eBay’s “strategic and planned” attacks were uncovered, according to Mr. Murphy.

He noted high-level employees’ involvement in the harassment, including then-CEO David Wenig. Mr. Murphy said eBay’s vice-president, Wendy Jones, told the head of security to stop Ina’s reporting and not tell her how.

“The Steiners were finally able to get all that they wanted”

Mr. Murphy said that the US Justice Department charged 7 employees with offences, but that the 3 high-level executives the Steiners felt “were the start of this” were not charged

The Steiners re-started legal proceedings as they “were not happy” the executives avoided charges. They sought accountability, transparency, and to protect freedom of the press.

Ultimately, Mr. Wenig and the other executives signed an out-of-court settlement with the Steiners, donating money to free-speech charities and paying fees to the couple