eBay Cyberstalking Trial Moved To March 2026, Victims Decry Justice Delayed
Victims decry delayed justice as eBay cyberstalking scandal civil trial date is once again moved, now scheduled for March 2, 2026.
The bizarre corporate plot unfolded over 6 years ago, targeting journalists Ina and David Steiner for their reporting on eBay at EcommerceBytes and seeking to unmask the identity of unsuckEBAY (also known as FidoMaster/Dan Davis), an anonymous source and commenter who also sparked the ire of top executives at the company.
Court records revealed sordid details of the stalking and harassment campaign that included disturbing deliveries of live insects, bloody pig masks and funeral wreaths as well as threatening messages, doxxing that ultimately escalated to in-person surveillance and an attempted break-in at the hands of high-level eBay security personnel led by Jim Baugh.
Baugh, Director of Global Resiliency David Harville, Security Manager Philip Cooke, Sr Manager Special Operations Brian Gilbert, Sr Manager Global Intelligence Stephanie Popp, Global Intelligence Manager Stephanie Stockwell, and Security Analyst Veronica Zea all pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their roles in these crimes.
eBay signed a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice that forced the company to admit to a detailed recitation of all the relevant facts involving six felony offenses with eBay paying a $3 Million fine and undergoing 3 years of enhanced compliance monitoring in order to avoid further criminal prosecution related to this matter.
But importantly, that $3 Million was paid to the US Treasury, not the victims, leaving the Steiners to pursue compensation through the civil court system.
The ongoing lawsuit named the seven criminal defendants plus eBay, ex-CEO Devin Wenig, ex-Communications Chief Steve Wymer, ex-SVP Global Operations Wendy Jones, and security company Progressive F.O.R.C.E Concepts (PFC), claiming direction and support for the harassment came from the very top of eBay's c-suite.
PFC had the claims against them dismissed in summary judgement and the Steiners have since inked deals with Baugh, Cooke, Popp, Stockwell and Zea to release them from the lawsuit in exchange for their willingness to testify against the executive defendants.
Liz Morton
The trial against eBay, Wenig, Wymer and Jones had been set to start January 5, 2026 but Wenig's attorney, Abbe Lowell, requested to have it moved to April because of scheduling conflicts due to his involvement in several other high profile cases including:
- Trump v Cook - Mr. Lowell represents Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook in litigation arising from the Trump administration’s efforts to fire her.
- US v David Huerta - Mr. Lowell is co-lead trial counsel for David Huerta, California president of the Service Employees International Union who was charged with obstruction, resistance or opposition to a federal officer for action during an ICE raid.
- US v Letitia James - Mr. Lowell represents New York Attorney General Letitia James in her recent indictment on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
The Steiners objected to the motion to delay, but Judge Patti Saris granted it - with the final agreed upon new date of March 2, 2026 set in a status hearing today.
After attorneys confirmed the suit "is not going to settle", the Saris first tried to suggest a creative solution of going ahead with the January trial date against only eBay and then holding another trial for the executive defendants later if still needed, but that idea was rejected.
Judge Saris also suggested that Wenig could go to trial with one of his other current lawyers, Martin Weinberg, taking the lead since Mr. Lowell will not be available.
But that idea was rejected by Mr. Lowell, who says that while Mr. Weinberg has been an important member of Wenig's legal team, his role has been significantly limited - and if Mr. Lowell can't take the lead at trial, Wenig would look for alternate representation, which would delay things even longer.
While all sides ultimately agreed to make a March trial date work, the Steiners are not taking the delay laying down, issuing a statement via EcommerceBytes saying they believe that "jurors are the ones who should decide what it takes for eBay and its former executives to be held fully accountable...especially when something as important as First Amendment values are at stake."
Much of the mainstream media coverage of this case has focused on the bizarre nature of the crimes against the Steiners but strangely, broader free speech and press freedom issues have been largely ignored.
Liz Morton
After today's hearing, eBay also filed a request to seal their upcoming Motion in Limine where the plan to ask the judge to exclude evidence related to alleged sexual assaults of two individuals by Jim Baugh and to exclude an expert witness, Jacqueline M. Johnson.
While that motion will likely be granted, it's possible at least one of the individuals may be co-defendant Veronica Zea, whose sentencing letter in the criminal case gave disturbing details of the toxic environment at eBay working under Jim Baugh, including alluding to the possibility she may have been drugged and assaulted after being convinced by Baugh to go with him to Popp's apartment and not being allowed to leave.
Liz Morton
And while this motion does not specify who expert witness Jacqueline M. Johnson is and what the plaintiffs have called her to testify about, a LinkedIn profile for a Jackie Johnson, Consultant and Expert Witness Services at IMS Legal Strategies, shows she is an expert on "trauma, abuse, and cult recovery."
Zea had likened the security department at eBay under Baugh to being in a cult, so it would make sense for the Steiners to call in a cult expert to testify - and it would also make sense why eBay would want to avoid that expert testimony at all costs, assuming that is the correct profile for Ms. Johnson.
eBay and other defendants previously successfully argued to have other expert witnesses Dr. Adam Galinsky and Kristin Kucsma excluded as well.
Liz Morton
Wenig, Jones, and eBay also filed motions after today's hearing objecting to the Steiners seeking to introduce exhibits at trial that they say were not properly disclosed during the discovery phase of the litigation including but not limited to:
- A photograph depicting Devin Wenig with Veronica Zea and two other females on the eBay campus
- 911 call recordings from the Natick Police
- eBay Annual Reports and Proxy Statements
The delay will also render the Steiners' Writ of Habeas Corpus requesting to allow Baugh to travel from Arkansas, where he is currently still in Federal custody per his sentence in the related criminal case, to Massachusetts to testify moot as the new trial date of March 2 will be after his expected release date of January 25, 2026.
The case is Steiner et al v. eBay Inc. et al case number 1:21-cv-11181 in US District Court of Massachusetts.
Stay tuned for updates as the eBay cyberstalking lawsuit continues and remember - VAR+ subscribers get exclusive access to the Value Added Resource eBay cyberstalking case document archive!
