Six eBay executives and employees charged over alleged cyberstalking campaign

Some CEOs are incredibly thin-skinned, they hire a bunch of people who usually got kicked out of the police after they harassed/beat someone, and then self-destruct with their own personal army when they can't handle the heat (you will get criticised daily).

Btw, something that was coincident with this (I believe) was the activist campaign against EBay...again, the number of executives who self-destruct when they see proof that they are bad at their job is significant (I wouldn't like to venture a guess at a proportion but I have seen this 10+ times).

Just imo, the problem is always lack of oversight. Boards not really asking whether the executives are up to the job, fat expense accounts with lots of these ex-police nutjobs stalking people, it is just total madness. Companies become captured by these executives.

(I used to know a guy who ran a relatively small fund but used to short sell frauds, mainly accounting as the guy used to be an accountant. He had to go to great lengths to hide what he was doing because the second a company found out, they would send people to wait outside his office/follow him/etc. and this is just a nobody guy running a small fund in a mid-tier financial city i.e. not London, or New York, or HK...I call these executives the Harvard Business School Al-Qaeda, truly dangerous people).

> Those involved became so concerned that they developed a list of people in California they could frame if authorities tracked the harassment there, Lelling said

[0] https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/25/ebay-ceo-devin-wenig-is-step...

https://www.scribd.com/document/465728291/FBI-Affidavit-agai...

> "On April 10, 2019... Executive 2 texted Executive 1... sending along a link to the Newsletter’s coverage that day [2] of Executive 1's compensation".

[1] https://www.scribd.com/document/465728291/FBI-Affidavit-agai...

[2] https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2019/4/155...

It says on June 30, the Ebay CFO and two Ebay board members are "retiring".

Commenters in this thread are questioning why this blog was targeted and speculating without any facts.

May I suggest reading the FBI's Criminal Complaint:

https://web.archive.org/web/20200616015754if_/https://assets...

Additonally, here is a PDF of the FBI's Affidavit, instead of the scribd nonsense.

https://regmedia.co.uk/2020/06/15/ebayaffadavit.pdf

For those who will not read the complaint, here's a few excerpts:

18. On April 10, 2019, for example, Executive 2 texted Executive 1, "We are going to crush this lady", sending along a link to the Newsletter's coverage that day of Executive 1's compensation.

19. On April 20, 2019, discussing the Wall Street Journal's coverage of Executive 1, Executive 1 texted to Executive 2, "Fuck them. The journal is next on the list after [Victim 1]."

20. On May 31, 2019, commenting on the Newsletter's coverage of eBay that day, Executive 2 texted to Executive 1, "Shockingly reasonable..." Executive 1 replied, "I couldn t care less what she says." Seconds later, Executive 1 added, "Take her down."

22. Like many news outlets, the Newsletter offered its readers the opportunity to comment underneath Victim 1 s stories. The anonymous comments were sometimes critical of eBay and its executive leadership team. At other times, the comments amounted to namecalling. For example, a May 2015 comment called eBay executives liars and thugs who should be jailed; a May 2017 comment called Executive 1 the devil; and an April 2018 comment stated that Executive 1 was delusional.

23. One commenter in particular, who went by the online nicknames FidoMaster, FidoMaster1, Dan Davis, or UnsuckeBay (collectively, the Parody Account expressed frequent and negative opinions regarding eBay.2 In addition to commenting below the Newsletter s articles, the anonymous author(s) of the Parody Account sometimes posted opinions critical of eBay in Twitter feeds, impersonated official eBay communications using a distorted version of the company's logo, or sent messages that one eBay seller considered to be harassing.

24. On May 21, 2019, for example, the Newsletter reported that eBay had built on its campus an expensive replica of Walker a popular Manhattan bar noting, "It's probably news to sellers (and shareholders?) that eBay has a pub-like lounge on campus especially one built with what appears to be no-expenses spared." FidoMaster1 tweeted a link to the article, noting @[Newsletter] posted about @eBay s beleagured [Executive 1 s] self-indulgent vanity project Walker's West campus bar. The tweet continued, "The bar, [Executive 1's] recreation of iconic @WalkersBarNYC is a throwback to internet and gaming company CEO s lavish overspending on legacy facilities and landmarks." FidoMaster1 also criticized Executive 1 for undertaking the project while eBay was experiencing cost reduction, layoffs, and scrutiny by activist investors.

25. In March 2019, in response to a request from Executive 2, the GIC prepared a report for BAUGH summarizing the Parody Account s discussions of eBay over the last year. The report noted that FidoMaster1/Dan Davis was an anonymous [T]witter user that posts negative content about eBay and its senior leadership. Regarding Fidomaster1/Dan Davis relationship with the Newsletter, the report noted the owner of this account corresponds regularly with [the Newsletter] editor [Victim 1] about issues pertaining to eBay. [Victim 1] and [the Newsletter] are known for publishing negative content about eBay and its executives.

31. On or about July 18, 2019, Executive 1's spouse texted BAUGH privately about a comment underneath a Newsletter article that called Executive 1 a con artist and thief. The spouse wrote: "I'm not exactly thrilled with this post on my favorite [Newsletter]. The author gets people worked up with the way she skews her stories. Don t tell [Executive 1] I sent this I m just letting you know about it. Ok?"

34. On August 1, 2019, the New York Times published an article reporting that eBay had accused Amazon in a lawsuit of unlawfully poaching eBay sellers to Amazon s online marketplace.

35. That day, at approximately 1:46 p.m., Victim 1 posted an article on the Newsletter under the headline "eBay RICO Lawsuit Meant to Curb Seller Exodus to Amazon?" Victim 1's article reported on both Executive 1 and eBay's lawsuit: "[Executive 1] has been unable to stop a decline in market sales, but trying to dissuade sellers from turning to Amazon (and trying to get Amazon to stop recruiting sellers) may not be the best tactic."

36. Just half an hour later, at 2:19 p.m., Executive 1 texted Executive 2: "[Victim 1] is out with a hot piece on the litigation. If you are ever going to take her down..now is the time."

37. Executive 2 responded shortly afterward by text message: "On it."

I'm surprised Nissan was not able to settle w/ mom and pop. Branding is worth millions. I doubt they were being stingy; were they holding out on principle? Were mom and pop asking for a silly amount?

It's also amusing a North American corporation was able to wrest the .amazon domain away from, well, the real Amazonians in Brazil.

Anyone find any that were especially critical or funny?

This reads like doublespeak.

They should be criticized for their morals, not their stupidity!

Ok, let's assume you're a sociopath or at least a bully and you believe this action is justified or appropriate in response to some offense. You're already well outside of normal behavior, but let's take that as as given.

We're still talking about six or more wealthy, middle-aged people with astoundingly good jobs (in the grand scheme of things) being willing to risk their livelihood, their reputation, their wealth and their freedom over "someone online said something bad about the company I work for"? Even if what the couple published in their newsletter was invalid (and there's no suggestion that it is), we're talking about throwing your life - and that of your immediate family - away to "punish" an Internet troll.

This wasn't just some rash decision, this was methodically planned and executed over several weeks or months. They bought plane tickets. Practice for crimes in the company parking lot. Set up fake social media accounts. Got pre-paid credit cards. Imagine sleeping on this decision 90 times over and still thinking it's a good idea?

And the icing on the cake is how could they remotely think they would be able to get away with this? Multiple _death threats_ over weeks or months over "don't say bad things about ebay" and they thought the police might _not_ take a good hard look inside the company?

How did they think this would play out?

This is so crazy. It's cult-like behavior.

I can only imagine journalists clapping their hands with glee at the idea of a big company trying to intimidate them with high school antics, all for investigative reporting.

But risking your career/potentially ruining your life because someone criticized your employer in a newsletter (or whatever happened exactly)? That's something you rebut in print or maybe get a lawyer involved if you think there are material/malicious falsehoods. The head of Communications must have skipped that class when they took communications in college.

The behavior reminds me of how Holmes & Theranos behaved and responded to criticism and things she didn't like.

Throwing out an opinion: I'd suspect the primary instigator is a sociopath and started the process, then roped the others in one by one. What's described in that nine minute video, is so far outside the realm of normal behavior, the person that started this is probably severely behaviorally defective.

It reeks of sociopathic behavior, including the way there was an attempt to then find & set up candidates to take the fall back in California, as the Natick police began investigating.

i.e someone used to committing illegal intimitation with impunity, while being accustomed to responding to criticism with tear gas?

> a systematic campaign fueled by the resources of a Fortune 500 company to emotionally and psychologically terrorize this middle aged couple in Natick, with the goal of deterring them from writing bad things online about eBay.

What jumped out for me, was that several of the criminals were involved in policing, security, intelligence, surveillance, and "special operations".

It's not hard to imagine that there's a corrupt and unethical streak in this subculture, since they are above the law in some sense. It's only a natural step, to abuse their power and treat the public with contempt or disdain.

Getting your hands dirty on behalf of megalomaniac titans of industry can be “just a job” too. What’s the point of being rich, if not to bring CIA-level resources to bear on your personal dramas? Worked for Ghosn.

I doubt it’s personal for the security professionals. In fact I bet they’re rolling their eyes at “the client” when he’s not around. All it takes is one crazy executive.

I think this is the level of obsession and craziness that makes people successful. I read quite a few biographies and it seems to me that a lot of famous or super successful people are very willing to do bad stuff if someone gets in their way. they want to win at all cost.

It could be that, a fanatical devotion to the mission that goes beyond all reason.

But another possibility is that there is something different wrong with them where these sorts of tactics (and risks) don't seem that outlandish to them. Maybe for them, it doesn't require devotion to escalate things to this level. This may not be the first time they've done stuff like this.

EDIT: Never mind, Seems orders came all the way from CEO :o holy shit this is toxic and expensive.

Regarding "Executive 1", it supports your point -- no work/life boundary.

In my mind, if a man was truly concerned about how others view his character, as reflected by his work, he would not join a "tech" company! :)

He will not be charged despite ordering the harassment. I wonder what the blog author thinks about that.

4ish years to promote up, especially the first two level levels. Velocity isn't all that crazy.

And if the team isn’t very big, those ICs report into a Director. Otherwise their may be an Associate Director in between.

* director of safety and security

* director of global resiliency

* senior manager of global intelligence

* manager of global intelligence center (GIC)

* contractor who worked as an intelligence analyst

* senior manager

None of these are what I'd consider an executive, as titles go, at major tech companies. The highest ranking title (director) is solidly middle-management.

The majority of promotions to management or senior management levels that I've seen in SV (including when I worked at eBay) were the result of knowing someone with the power to make it happen for you.

The first thing I thought of was the recent case where Apple's executive in charge of insider trading rule compliance was indicted for insider trading.

The "execution" would be forced replacement of the entire C-suite. Additionally, the CEO would be barred from the C-suite or Board positions forever.

This punishment would be reserved for corporations that knowingly kill people, such as pharma pushing opioids or Boeing hiding flaws in their planes.

If there's any justice (1) people will do time and (2) they will win a huge civil suit against eBay. At least the latter is likely if not the former...

This situation mirrors that of Enemy of the State(1998) pretty well, except for the end. Irl important wealthy people are never punished.

https://www.ebayinc.com/stories/news/ebay-inc-issues-stateme...

In cases like this, the prosecutors frequently offer the lower-level suspects leniency if they cooperate with the prosecution of the high-level suspect. What we're seeing here could just be the beginning of a case that could last for a long time, with evidence against the CEO accumulating at each step.

The CEO is probably getting very nervous right now. Maybe his nervousness will make him commit some more crimes, like lying to the FBI or trying to destroy evidence.