David Harville, Cyberstalking, Massachusetts 2020

BOSTON — A former eBay executive pleaded guilty to his role in a cyberstalking campaign targeting the editor and publisher of a newsletter critical of the company.

David Harville, 50, of Las Vegas, Nev., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit stalking through interstate travel and through facilities of interstate commerce, two counts of stalking through interstate travel and two counts of stalking through facilities of interstate commerce.

The cyberstalking campaign, which took place between August 5, 2019, and September 6, 2019, involved sending anonymous and disturbing deliveries to the victims’ home, including a book on surviving the death of a spouse, a bloody pig mask, a fetal pig, a funeral wreath, and live insects.

The harassment also featured Craigslist posts inviting the public for sexual encounters at the victims’ home and private Twitter messages and public tweets criticizing the newsletter’s content and threatening to visit the victims in Natick.

Harville and his co-conspirators executed a three-part harassment campaign intended to intimidate the victims and to change the content of the newsletter’s reporting.

Harville and his co-conspirators traveled from California to Natick to surveil the victims and to install a GPS tracking device on the victims’ car. The victims spotted the surveillance team and contacted local police.

U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for October 6, 2022.

The charges of conspiracy to commit stalking and stalking each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution.

Harville is awaiting sentencing. Former eBay executive James Baugh, who pleaded guilty on April 25, 2022, is also involved in the case. Co-conspirators and former eBay employees Philip Cooke, Brian Gilbert, Stephanie Popp, Veronica Zea, and Stephanie Stockwell previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

eBay provided valuable assistance and cooperation with the investigation.

Related Federal Cases