USA v. eBay Court Filing, retrieved on January 11, 2024, is part of . You can jump to any part in this filing . This is part 7 of 12. HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series here Actions in Furtherance of the Harassment and Intimidation Campaign 45. From on or about August 5, 2019 through at least September 6, 2019, the Individual Defendants took the following steps, among others, as part of the harassment and intimidation campaign: a. On or about August 6, 2019, Baugh, Gilbert, Cooke, and Popp met at eBay headquarters to plan the White Knight Strategy. b. On or about August 6, 2019, Baugh, Popp, Stockwell, Zea, and other members of the GIC met at eBay headqua1ters to plan the delivery to the Steiners' home of unwanted and disturbing items to distract the Steiners from publishing the Newsletter. c. On or about August 6, 2019, Stockwell purchased a laptop computer at a Best Buy store in San Jose, California for use in the harassment and intimidation campaign. d. On or about August 6, 2019, Popp created a Twitter account in the name of "@Tui_ Elei" that used a picture of a skeleton mask as a profile picture. e. On or about August 7, 2019, Popp sent the following DMs from the @Tui_Elei Twitter account to Ina Steiner's Twitter account: • "[Ina Steiner's First Name] ...whats your problem w/ebay? You know that's how we pay rent." • "HELLO!!!!!!! g. On or about August 9, 2019, Popp sent the following DMs from the@Tui_Elei Twitter account to Ina Steiner's Twitter account: • "WTF ...whats it goin to take for u to answer me??" • "I guess im goin to have to get ur attention another way bitch ..." • "U don't have the balls to talk to me?? Stop hiding behind ur computer screen u fuckin cunt!!!" h. On or about August 9, 2019, Stockwell used an anonymous email account to order live spiders and fly larvae for delivery to the Steiners' home. i. On or about August 9, 2019, one or more of the individual Defendants ordered a subscription for pornographic magazines in the name of David Steiner to be sent to the Steiners' neighbors. J. On or about August 9, 2019, one or more of the Individual Defendants attempted to order a pig fetus for delivery to the Steiners' home. k. On or about August 10, 2019, one or more of the Individual Defendants ordered a Halloween Pig Mask for delivery to the Steiners' home. I. On or about August 10, 2019, Popp sent the following DM from the@Tui_Elei Twitter account to Ina Steiner's Twitter account: • "DO I HAVE UR ATTENTION NOW????" m. On or about August 10, 2019, Popp sent the following DMs from the @Tui_Elei Twitter account to Ina Steiner's Twitter account: • "Ur fat fuck pussy husband [David Steiner's first name] needs to put u in Iine cunt." • "after he takes the plugs out of his asshole ...fuckin pussies!!!" n. On or about August 11, 2019, Baugh directed Harville to travel with him to Boston for an "op" targeting Ina Steiner and her website (i.e., EcommerceBytes). o. On or about August 11, 2019, Baugh sent Harville the following text message: "I won't send the bosses texts, but I've been ordered to find and destroy." Harville replied, "Copy. Totally black[.] I'm deleting this now." p. On or about August 12, 2019, Baugh sent Popp, Stockwell, Zea, and other GIC analysts the following WhatsApp message: "Starting now through Tuesday night double our effort on everything. Spam, house deliveries, etc. I don't want anything delivered on Thursday, so the cutoff should be Wednesday night - wake them up with a limo driver or something and then everything goes cold Thursday morning.... Take down all Craigslist posts late Wednesday night. Stop spam late Wednesday night, etc." q. On or about August 12, 2019, one or more of the Individual Defendants sent a book titled "Grief Diaries: Surviving Loss of a Spouse" to the Steiners' home. r. On or about August 12, 2019, Popp used the @Tui_Elei Twitter account to post publicly to Ina Steiner's Twitter account: "[Ina Steiner] ...wats ur problem with ebay??" s. On or about August 12, 2019, Popp used the @Tui_Elei Twitter account to post publicly to Ina Steiner's Twitter account: "many familys including mine make money 2 pay 4 food cloths and rent by selling on ebay...UR stupid idkiot comments r pushin buyers away from ebay and hurtin familys! ! ! STOP IT NOW!!" t. On or about August 13, 2019, one or more of the Individual Defendants used a prepaid debit card to order a funeral wreath for delivery to the Steiners' home. u. On or about August 14, 2019, one or more of the Individual Defendants ordered live cockroaches for delivery to the Steiners' home. v. On or about August 14, 2019, Popp used the @Tui_Elei Twitter account to post a public message to Ina Steiner's Twitter account: "[First name of Ina Steiner] wen u hutt our bizness u huit our familiys ...Pp! will do ANYTHING 2 protect family!!!!" w. On or about August 14, 2019, Baugh, Harville, Zea, Gilbert, and Popp met to discuss a trip to Natick, Massachusetts to install a GPS tracking device on the Steiners' car and to surveil the Steiners. At the meeting, Baugh instructed Zea to stop harassing deliveries that would interfere with the surveillance operation. x. On or about August 14, 2019, Zea attempted to register herself and Harville for a software development conference in Boston as false cover for the surveillance trip. y. On or about August 15, 2019, Harville used his eBay-issued phone to visit a website that could be used to monitor the "Natick Police and Fire Live Audio Feed." z. On or about August 15, 2019, Baugh, Harville, and Zea flew from California to Boston, Massachusetts. aa. On or about August 15, 2019, Stockwell sent a text message to Harville providing the license plate numbers for the Steiners' cars. bb. On or about August 15, 2019, Baugh, Harvi Ile, and Zea drove to the Steiners' home in Natick and attempted unsuccessfully to install a GPS tracking device on the Steiners' car, which was locked in the Steiners' garage. cc. On or about August 15, 2019, Baugh, Harville, Popp, and Zea dialed in to a conference line to communicate during the surveillance operation and to monitor the NPD dispatch. dd. On or about August 15, 2019, Baugh directed Stockwell by WhatsApp message to prepare an eBay "Person of lnterest" report ("POI Report") that listed the Steiners as eBay's top POis. Baugh wrote, "In the narrative I need you to write that they have made direct threats to ebay, [eBay's CEO], and our employees (make it up)." ee. On or about August 16, 2019, Harville purchased tools at a Boston hardware store for the purpose of breaking into the Steiners' locked garage. ff. On or about August 16, 2019, Baugh, Harville, and Zea returned to Natick in a rented Dodge Caravan to surveil the Steiners, and drove past their home repeatedly. gg. On or about August 16, 2019, Harville dialed in to the surveillance team's conference line. hh. On or about August 16, 20I 9, Baugh, Harville, and Zea followed David Steiner as he drove around Natick. ii. On or about August 16, 2019, believing that David Steiner had spotted the surveillance, Baugh returned the Dodge Caravan to the rental car agency. jj. On or about August 16, 2019, after the failed surveillance, Baugh directed that harassing deliveries to the Steiners resume. kk. On or about August 17, 2019, at 3:08 a.m. (EDT), Stockwell researched Bostonarea 24-hour drain repair services on the internet for the purpose of sending a repairman to the Steiners' home in the middle of the night. II. On or about August 17, 2019, one or more of the Individual Defendants ordered pizza to be delivered to the Steiners' home at 4:30 a.m., for payment upon delivery. mm. On or about August 17, 2019, Harville returned to California, and Popp traveled to Boston to replace him on the surveillance team. nn. On or about August 18, 2019, Popp replied to a public tweet on Ina Steiner's Twitter account using the @Tui_Elei account and stated: "Dis ur address???" The message was followed by information about Ina Steiner, accurately stating her name, age, address, and telephone number. oo. On or about August 18, 2019, Popp sent the following DM from the @Tui_Elei Twitter account to Ina Steiner's Twitter account: "U get my gifts cunt!!??" pp. On or about August 18, 2019, one or more of the Individual Defendants posted an advertisement on Craigslist claiming to be a married couple seeking a sexual partner or partners, and providing the Steiners' home address. qq. On or about August 18, 2019, Baugh, Popp, and Zea followed David Steiner as he drove in Natick. rr. On or about August 20, 2019, Baugh sent a text message to Popp, Gilbert, and Cooke that the Individual Defendants had "burned" two surveillance cars and that either the Steiners or the NPD were "seeing ghosts right now." ss. On or about August 20, 2019, Baugh forwarded to Gilbert the POI Report falsely indicating that the Steiners were security threats to eBay. In a WhatsApp message to Gilbert, Cooke, and Popp, Baugh stated: "Just sent poi doc with [the Steiners] included. I had GIC send this to me last week in case we got stopped .. that way would at least have something to show to PD." tt. On or about August 20, 2019, after Twitter suspended the @Tui_Elei account for posting the Steiners' home address, Popp created a new Twitter account, @Elei_ Tui, for use in harassing the Steiners. uu. On or about August 20, 2019, Popp also created two other Twitter accounts, including one that used the name ofa prominent eBay seller. vv. On or about August 21, 2019, Zea and Baugh made false statements to an NPD detective who came to the surveillance team's hotel to investigate Zea and Harville's connection to the cyberstalking campaign. ww. On or about August 21, 2019, at approximately 9:36 a.m. (EDT), Baugh sent the following text message to Popp, Gilbe1t, and Cooke: "Natick detective is in lobby looking for [Zea]. I've taken her away from hotel headed to airport...Detective called her cell. I answered just now as her husband and played dumb." xx. On or about August 21, 2019, at approximately 9:39 a.m. (EDT), Gilbert proposed to Baugh, Cooke, and Popp bringing "dossiers" on the Steiners to the NPD: "Definitely want to make them look crazy." yy. On or about August 21, 2019, between approximately 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. (EDT), Popp sent more threatening tweets to and about Ina Steiner and the Newsletter ("the Concerning Tweets"). Popp used the three Twitter accounts that she had created the night before to have a public "conversation" on Twitter, asking over one account what Ina Steiner's address was, and responding from the other "guest I hav to pay Ina a visit." zz. On or about August 21, 2019, minutes after writing the Concerning Tweets, Popp forwarded images of the Concerning Tweets to Baugh and Gilbert, writing falsely that Ina Steiner was "really bringing out some angry Twitter users." aaa. On or about August 21, 2019, at approximately 12:34 p.m. (EDT), Baugh forwarded the Concerning Tweets to Harville. bbb. On or about August 21, 2019, at approximately 2:30 p.m. (EDT), executing the White Knight Strategy, Gilbert called the Steiners, identified himself as an eBay employee, and offered eBay's assistance. ccc. After the call, Gilbert messaged Baugh, Popp, and Cooke that the Steiners were "totally rattled." ddd. Thereafter, still on August 21, 2019, Gilbert spoke, text messaged, and emailed with an NPD detective who was handling the investigation into the harassment of the Steiners. Gilbert falsely claimed not to know Zea or Harville and falsely stated that he had to travel to Toronto and New York but would instead attempt to come to Boston to meet with the NPD. eee. On or about August 21, 2019, after learning that the NPD was investigating the use of a prepaid debit card to purchase pizzas for delivery to the Steiners, Baugh and Popp directed Stockwell to prepare a list of eBay "Persons of lnterest" in the San Francisco Bay Area that could be used (as part of Gilbert's "dossier") to deflect attention from Zea. fff. On or about August 21, 2019, Stockwell created the document that Baugh requested-"Bay Area POis_August 2019.docx"- and emailed it to Popp and Baugh, who forwarded it to Gilbert for use in the NPD meeting. ggg. On or about August 22, 2019, Gilbert and another eBay employee met with three NPD officers at the NPD. During the meeting, Gilbert falsely stated that: • Zea and Harville had come to Boston to attend a conference; • Popp was Zea's supervisor; and • Popp had assigned Zea to a Person of Interest investigation regarding the Steiners, and that Zea had driven to Natick "on her own." hhh. On or about August 22, 2019, after the NPD meeting, Popp used one of the new Twitter accounts to post "@[Newsletter] 20 yrs of lies n distroin familys ... dunt b proud of dat u wurthless BITCH!!! i will distroy ur family n bizness 2… C how u like it…\n\n@Elei_Tui wen r we goin 2 visit her in natik???” jjj. On or about August 23, 20I 9, Baugh falsely told eBay investigators his team was not responsible for harassing messages or deliveries and that his team had been in Natick to investigate threats to the Steiners. kkk. On August 23, 2019, at 5:15 p.m. (PDT), Baugh messaged Executive 2 as follows: Hi [Executive 2] - this is Jim Baugh's personal cell. My team ran an Op on our friend in Boston. Nothing illegal occurred and we were actually intending to team up with her and get her on our side in a positive manner. However, small town police got a couple of rental car plates and tracked it back to my people and the hotel the were staying at. They sent a note to ebay investigations GAP team who then passed it to legal and they are conducting an internal investigation on us. We are cooperating, but I know they realize something is off. We will continue to cooperate, but not sure how much longer we can keep this up. If there is any way to get some top cover that would be great. If not, I just wanted you to have a heads up because they are aware that multiple members of the ELT are not a fan of that website to include [redacted] and his wife. Again, no crime was committed and local police don't have a case. I don't want our legal team to give them one. Let me know if you want to discuss this weekend. lll. On or about August 26, 2019, Harville falsely told eBay investigators that he didn't know whether Zea had gone to Natick and that he had not worked on a matter involving the Steiners. mmm. On or after August 26, 2019, Baugh, Harville, Popp, Zea, Gilbett, and others deleted and attempted to delete data from their mobile phones that evidenced the conspiracy, including WhatsApp messages. nnn. On or about August 27, 2019, Harville falsely told eBay investigators that he had attended a conference in Boston with Zea. ooo. On or about August 28, 2019, Baugh falsely told eBay investigators that his team was not responsible for the deliveries or harassing communications. ppp. On or about August 30, 2019, Baugh directed an eBay employee to retrieve computers from the GIC and to bring them to his house. qqq. On or about August 30, 2019, after receiving an email from an eBay investigator directing him to preserve relevant information and to turn in his eBay-issued cell phone, Harville messaged Baugh, Gilbert, and Popp, "Want me to wipe it." rrr. On or about August 30, 2019, Harville turned in his eBay-issued cell phone from which significant data related to his trip to Natick had been deleted. sss. On or about September 6, 2019, Popp posted five new Tweets to one ofthe Twitter accounts that the Individual Defendants had used to harass the Steiners, to suggest that those responsible for harassing the Steiners were still at large. Continue Reading . Here About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case retrieved on January 11, 2024, from is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. ecommercebytes.com

How High-Ranking eBay Executives Tried to Silence Critics

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