Two more former eBay executives were sentenced Tuesday in connection with a “bizarre” cyberstalking campaign to intimidate a Massachusetts couple after they posted critical comments about the online retailer.Stephanie Popp, eBay’s former senior manager of global intelligence, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and two years of probation while appearing in Boston federal court. The 34-year-old Louisville, Kentucky resident pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses on Oct. 8, 2020.Stephanie Stockwell, the former manager of eBay’s Global Intelligence Center, also appeared in Boston federal court Tuesday and was sentenced to two years of probation, with one year to be served in home confinement. The 28-year-old Redwood City, California resident pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses on Oct. 29, 2020.Last month, eBay’s former senior director of safety and security, James Baugh, was sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $40,000 fine. The San Jose, California resident was also charged with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses.Stockwell and Popp reported to Baugh, who authorities said was the leader of the scheme.”I take 100% responsibility for this, and there is no excuse,” Baugh said at the Sept. 29 sentencing. “I’m sorry that I hurt you when I should have been protecting you.”Watch a report from the day of Baugh’s sentencing in the video player above. Ina and David Steiner, of Natick, are the editors and publishers of the blog eCommerceBytes, an online publication that covers e-commerce companies, including eBay.The Steiners were the target of a bizarre series of threatening incidents beginning in August of 2019. The couple said they were sent disturbing items, including live bugs, a bloody pig mask, a funeral wreath and a book about coping with the loss of a spouse. When the first incidents occurred, the Steiners said they didn’t know who was behind the threats. They said it took nearly a year before they discovered the scope and the source of the situation.”This was a deliberate attempt to destroy us,” Ina Steiner said at Baugh’s sentencing.”This was a bizarre, premeditated assault on our lives,” David Steiner added. David Harville, eBay’s former director of global resiliency, was sentenced to 24 months in prison on Sept. 29. Harville, a 48-year-old New York City resident, spied on the Steiners and tried to break into their garage to install a GPS tracker on their car. In 2020, former eBay security supervisor Philip Cooke, a former police captain in Santa Clara, California, who worked for Baugh, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison in July 2021. Two other former eBay employees agreed to plead guilty in 2020 in connection with the case. The pair, Brian Gilbert and Veronica Zea, are expected to be sentenced in the coming weeks. Former eBay CEO Devin Wenig left the company about three months after the cyberstalking campaign began. Wenig is not charged and has denied all wrongdoing.His lawyers say a “takedown” comment she made about the Steiners was never intended to lead to anything like what happened to them.“We think it goes much further. We think the evidence will be there to suggest that it is a conspiracy that comes from the top down,” said Rosemary C. Scapicchio, the Steiners’ attorney.The sentencings mark the end of the criminal court proceedings, but the Steiners plan a civil suit.
Two more former eBay executives were sentenced Tuesday in connection with a “bizarre” cyberstalking campaign to intimidate a Massachusetts couple after they posted critical comments about the online retailer.
Stephanie Popp, eBay’s former senior manager of global intelligence, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and two years of probation while appearing in Boston federal court. The 34-year-old Louisville, Kentucky resident pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses on Oct. 8, 2020.
Stephanie Stockwell, the former manager of eBay’s Global Intelligence Center, also appeared in Boston federal court Tuesday and was sentenced to two years of probation, with one year to be served in home confinement. The 28-year-old Redwood City, California resident pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses on Oct. 29, 2020.
Last month, eBay’s former senior director of safety and security, James Baugh, was sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $40,000 fine. The San Jose, California resident was also charged with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses.
Stockwell and Popp reported to Baugh, who authorities said was the leader of the scheme.
“I take 100% responsibility for this, and there is no excuse,” Baugh said at the Sept. 29 sentencing. “I’m sorry that I hurt you when I should have been protecting you.”
Watch a report from the day of Baugh’s sentencing in the video player above.
Ina and David Steiner, of Natick, are the editors and publishers of the blog eCommerceBytes, an online publication that covers e-commerce companies, including eBay.
The Steiners were the target of a bizarre series of threatening incidents beginning in August of 2019. The couple said they were sent disturbing items, including live bugs, a bloody pig mask, a funeral wreath and a book about coping with the loss of a spouse.
When the first incidents occurred, the Steiners said they didn’t know who was behind the threats. They said it took nearly a year before they discovered the scope and the source of the situation.
“This was a deliberate attempt to destroy us,” Ina Steiner said at Baugh’s sentencing.
“This was a bizarre, premeditated assault on our lives,” David Steiner added.
David Harville, eBay’s former director of global resiliency, was sentenced to 24 months in prison on Sept. 29. Harville, a 48-year-old New York City resident, spied on the Steiners and tried to break into their garage to install a GPS tracker on their car.
In 2020, former eBay security supervisor Philip Cooke, a former police captain in Santa Clara, California, who worked for Baugh, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison in July 2021.
Two other former eBay employees agreed to plead guilty in 2020 in connection with the case. The pair, Brian Gilbert and Veronica Zea, are expected to be sentenced in the coming weeks.
Former eBay CEO Devin Wenig left the company about three months after the cyberstalking campaign began. Wenig is not charged and has denied all wrongdoing.
His lawyers say a “takedown” comment she made about the Steiners was never intended to lead to anything like what happened to them.
“We think it goes much further. We think the evidence will be there to suggest that it is a conspiracy that comes from the top down,” said Rosemary C. Scapicchio, the Steiners’ attorney.
The sentencings mark the end of the criminal court proceedings, but the Steiners plan a civil suit.
