Four former eBay executives accused of cyber-stalking and intimidating a Massachusetts couple are to admit their guilt before a court next month.
The married couple, an editor and a publisher residing in Natick, were targeted with a series of terrifying deliveries after they criticized eBay in an online newsletter.
Horrific parcels sent to the couple included a bloody pig mask, live spiders and cockroaches, a book on surviving the death of a spouse, and a wreath of funeral flowers. In addition, pornographic magazines addressed to the husband were received by one of the couple's neighbors.
The four defendants due to plead guilty in October are among six former senior employees of the American multinational e-commerce corporation who were charged in June with carrying out the terrifying cyber-campaign.
Court documents alleged that one member of eBay's executive team directed the company's former senior director of safety and security, James Baugh, to "take her down," referring to the newsletter's editor.
San Jose, California, resident Baugh, along with eBay’s former director of global resiliency, David Harville, of New York City, are charged with conspiracy to tamper with witnesses and conspiracy to commit cyber-stalking.
Other former eBay employees charged in relation to the alleged cyber-stalking are Stephanie Popp, former senior manager of global intelligence; Stephanie Stockwell, former manager of eBay’s Global Intelligence Center; Brian Gilbert, former senior manager of special operations for eBay’s Global Security Team; and Veronica Zea, a former eBay contractor who worked as an intelligence analyst in the Global Intelligence Center.
It is further alleged that the executives created fake social media accounts from which they sent the couple threatening messages and which they used to post statements about fictitious events happening at the couple's home address.
News of the quartet's intention to admit culpability was shared earlier today on Twitter by the US Attorney's Office in the district of Massachusetts. Precisely which defendants are planning to admit their part in the affair was not specified.
The office's tweet read: "Four former employees of #eBay are scheduled to plead guilty on Oct. 8 at 2pm via zoom in federal court in #Boston. The defendants are charged w/ participating in a cyberstalking campaign that targeted a Massachusetts couple."