This was extreme harassment and abuse of the press, in retribution merely for publishing the fact of the CEO’s salary compared to the average eBay employee.
There is still ongoing, active litigation between the Steiners, the government, and culpable parties.
Just because one person is bored of it, in no way means that the story (and the criminal and civil cases) are no longer relevant, important to share and discuss (here and anywhere), and/or a cautionary tale for ANYONE–seller, press, customer, literally anyone–who calls out abusive misbehavior of a powerful corporation.
Whether or not the publication/blog was credible or unbiased or interesting to anyone is completely irrelevant in this truly abhorrent tale of systematic abuse of power, unethical behavior, and traumatic harassment.
Ya, its like saying “There were N azi’s on the airplane, so no need to investigate as to why the plane crashed.” The due diligence should not change depending on the opinion of the victim.
My complaint was about the deliberate misinformation about the actions and the judgement which are rampant on the Internet, where the role of the Steiners is misrepresented. There is no judgement against Ebay for this level of harassment against sellers, yet social media is claiming that has occurred.
As for disliking the Steiners, there are many who do, but that does not mean the Ebay actions were justified.
And, there is finally an update about the court case. I saw this today on one of the sites I follow –
"The Steiners filed a civil lawsuit seeking accountability from the executives who sparked it all. After years of delays, the trial is set to begin March 2, 2026. I can’t wait to see what happens there. "
Good. Thanks I didn’t read the article, but remember this case from the years past. I always wondered how these absolute criminals were handled by eBay but never heard till now.
They did what all good corporations do – they buried the problem by firing the people that they tasked with doing what they did. The highest execs NEVER pay a huge price since they generally have a long history over their careers of building in ‘plausible deniability.’ They just relocate to other locations.
"Seven employees were convicted. Sentences ranged from probation to Baugh’s 57 months in federal prison. eBay paid a $3 million fine and admitted to six felonies.
But Wenig and Wymer? Never charged. Wenig still sits on General Motors’ board."
"Wenig resigned with a $57 million severance. Wymer, who’d demanded “ashes,” was quietly hired to run a Boys & Girls Club.
eBay’s internal investigation concluded Wenig’s messages were inappropriate but claimed he didn’t know criminal acts would follow."
I’ve never felt like ethics and morals were missing more from our corporate culture than I do these days. In fact, you would probably get fired or siloed if you pressed either in c-level settings these days, in far more cases than not. I don’t see if getting better in my lifetime.
I have posted on various forums with my opinion of the corporate cultures at various companies.
In spite of this incident, Ebay may actually have improved its corporate culture.
In the early days of Ebay, Pierre and I communicated about the possibility of Ebay advertising on my antiques and collectibles website, which was getting about 5k visits per day.
I made it exceptionally clear that I did not wish to be associated with Ebay, which appeared to be violating laws governing auctions in several states, and consumer protection laws nationwide.
He attempted to convince me that what he was doing was “good business” and I could share in his inevitable success. No question, he was successful. But I did not have any dealings with Ebay until after Meg began fumigating Ebay.
And their attorneys are dancing in the street and buying rounds at the bar (NOT the legal ‘bar’). Those are almost always 33% of the settlement so I am kind of disappointed they didn’t hit eBay and cohorts up for the $56 Million PLUS legal expenses!
So glad Wenig and two other executives were made to pay. Wenig at first seemed untouchable even though he started the ball rolling on what became a terror campaign against journalists.
I recommend looking up today’s Wired article on the settlement as well as the full news release at eCommerceBytes. Together they provide a lot of detail.
The Steiners endured a nightmare, then had to live it over and over during years of civil litigation, but they stuck with it. Notably they continually refused to agree to any confidentiality clauses as part of any settlement.
I’m sure their lawyers will take a substantial chunk of the money, but I believe that for the Steiners this was never primarily about the cash but rather exposing the ugliness of corporate America.
Seven former eBay employees and contractors pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges, including cyberstalking and witness tampering. Mastermind and former Senior Director of Safety & Security James Baugh received 57 months in prison. David Harville received 48 months. The others received shorter prison terms or home confinement.
When eBay completed its investigation in September 2019, it “terminated all involved employees, including the company’s former chief communications officer [Wymer],” according to a statement eBay published on its website. As for Wenig, the company said that “while [his] communications were inappropriate, there was no evidence that he knew in advance about or authorized the actions that were later directed toward the blogger and her husband.” Wenig left eBay in September 2019. The company said that “there were a number of considerations leading to his departure.”
What troubles the Steiners, though, is that despite their departures from eBay, Wenig and Wymer have escaped virtually scot-free. Neither has been criminally charged. Wenig walked out of eBay HQ with a $57 million exit package. The following year, after his messages—including “Take her down”—became public, he was reelected to serve as a member of General Motors’ board of directors. A spokesperson for GM said in a statement, “Since this did not involve GM business, we will not comment. GM is opposed to harassment in any form.” A spokesperson for Wenig said that eBay’s investigation with the outside law firm “confirmed that Devin had no knowledge of the activities and nothing to do with them whatsoever.” So far, eBay has refused to release its investigation, but it may be forced to do so as the criminal cases against Baugh and Harville proceed. Wymer, meanwhile, landed a new position even after his messages—including “I want to see ashes. Whatever. It. Takes”—entered the public domain. In September 2020, the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley unanimously selected him as their next president and CEO. Wymer did not respond to requests for comment. In a brief phone interview, Kathy Hevland, the chair of the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley, said the board members had been aware of Wymer’s connection to the Steiner case when they selected him. In a written statement, she said, “In addition to the unanimous support of our Board, a variety of respected community leaders and partners who care deeply about our organization and align with our values strongly endorsed Steve’s appointment to lead the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley. After more than a year as our CEO, we have found Steve to be a passionate and purpose-driven person.”
Settlement punishment:
$500,000 will be paid out to the couple from former eBay executive Wendy Jones, as well as $50,000 from former eBay executive Steve Wymer. - who received a $57 million exit package!
If I owned a Boy’s and Girl’s Club - a business with potentially HUGE liability - I would want a CEO who had a track record of good deniability practices.
