eBay, the Steiners, and the DoJ: eBay had no right to sue. An eBay spokesperson has issued a deferred prosecution agreement

eBay accepted responsibility for its employees’ actions as part of a deferred prosecution agreement, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Massachusetts. The charges against the company could be dismissed if eBay complies with the terms of the agreement, which include the company retaining an independent monitor to oversee the company for three years. The $3 million criminal penalty is the maximum fine for the six charges.

Levy said in a statement thateBay engaged in “horrible, criminal conduct”. “The company’s employees and contractors involved in this campaign put the victims through pure hell, in a petrifying campaign aimed at silencing their reporting and protecting the eBay brand.”

As part of the deferred prosecution agreement, the DOJ is requiring that eBay retain a corporate compliance monitor for three years and “make extensive enhancements to its compliance program.” eBay responded to the agreement in a post on its website, writing it “takes responsibility for the misconduct of its former employees.”

The Steiners filed a civil lawsuit last year against eBay, then-CEO Wenig and other former employees. A trial date is scheduled for March, according to the couple.

eBay employees also sent to the Steiners’ home live spiders and cockroaches, a funeral wreath, a fetal pig and a book about surviving the loss of a spouse.

The executives and other employees carried out an intimidation campaign, which began with: Creating fake accounts on social media, sending threatening emails to Ina, publicly posting the Steiners’ home address, and encouraging people to visit their house for sexual encounters.

The reporting of EcommerceBytes had become a source of irritation for eBay executives. After Ina wrote about eBay’s lawsuit against Amazon, the CEO of eBay messaged another executive saying, “if we are ever going to take her down, now is the time.”