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eBay Pays $46 M Settlement to Reporters Over Stalking Campaign

8/12/2026

44 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

U.S. eBay agreed to pay $46.15 million to reporters David and Ina Steiner in a $55.7 million deal for a stalking campaign.
The settlement included a $2 million contribution from CEO Devin Wenig and a $6 million donation by eBay to charities.
The 2019 campaign sent live spiders, a pig mask, and placed a tracking device on the Steiners’ car.
The settlement has no confidentiality clause, letting the Steiners speak about the case.

History

Historical Context

Enron’s 2008 $7.2 billion shareholder settlement, following its December 2001 bankruptcy and the Sarbanes-Oxley reforms, showed how massive fraud can trigger court-ordered restitution. The U.S. Department of Justice’s continued oversight of corporate misconduct reinforces a post-Enron trend toward transparent accountability, and the SEC’s tightened reporting rules under the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act have made such payouts more common.

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Story summary

U.S. eBay agreed to pay $46.15 million to reporters David and Ina Steiner in a $55.7 million deal for a stalking campaign.
The settlement included a $2 million contribution from CEO Devin Wenig and a $6 million donation by eBay to charities.
The 2019 campaign sent live spiders, a pig mask, and placed a tracking device on the Steiners’ car.
The settlement has no confidentiality clause, letting the Steiners speak about the case.

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