(NewsNation) — E-commerce company eBay has agreed to pay a Massachusetts couple millions of dollars after employees launched a harassment and intimidation campaign against them back in 2019 after they wrote a critical blog post about the site.

The Department of Justice says former eBay executives ordered workers to launch the campaign against David and Ina Steiner, who wrote the “critical” online newsletter. Employees then started sending them boxes of live spiders, cockroaches, bloody pig masks and threatening emails.

Workers even tried putting a GPS tracker on the couple’s car.

The Steiner’s home address was also posted online, and employees invited people to fake yard sales and parties. The couple said all this resulted in permanent emotional, financial and reputational damages.

In 2020, seven former eBay employees admitted they played a part in the harassment. At least one former high-ranking executive was sentenced in 2022 to almost five years in prison.

The DOJ also charged eBay with stalking, witness tampering and obstruction of justice.

On Thursday, federal prosecutors announced eBay has agreed to pay a $3 million fine to resolve criminal charges and it will participate in a deferred prosecution agreement, which calls for an independent monitor to oversee the company for three years to ensure its compliance with the terms of the agreement and federal law. If they fully comply, the charges will be dropped.

“Who are these people that eBay hired? How could they hire people who would have that much venom in them, that they would spew the most terrible things on this couple that we’re doing a newsletter? If you’re not happy with a newsletter, you just respond; through social media, through a press statement. You don’t do what these people did. It’s just horrific what they did,” Attorney Richard Roth said.

Current eBay CEO Jamie Iannone said the situation was wrong and reprehensible. Since then, new leaders have joined the company and eBay has strengthed its policies, procedures and training.