Philip Cooke, Cyberstalking, Massachusetts 2021

Grimy Times has learned that Philip Cooke, a former supervisor of security operations for eBay's European and Asian offices, pleaded guilty to his role in a cyberstalking campaign targeting a Natick, Mass. couple who published a newsletter that eBay executives viewed as critical of the company.

BOSTON – Cooke, 55, of San Jose, Calif., a former police captain in Santa Clara, Calif., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses.

U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for February 24, 2021.

Cooke conspired with six other former eBay employees, including David Harville, 48, of New York City and James Baugh, 45, of San Jose, Calif., who were charged on June 15, 2020, with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses.

The charging documents identified Cooke as 'Supervisor 1.' Stephanie Popp, 32, and Veronica Zea, 26, both of San Jose, Calif., pleaded guilty on October 8, 2020, and are scheduled to be sentenced on February 25, 2021.

According to the charging documents, the victims of the cyberstalking campaign were a Natick couple who are the editor and publisher of an online newsletter that covers ecommerce companies, including eBay.

Members of eBay's executive leadership team followed the newsletter's posts, often taking issue with its content and the anonymous comments underneath the editor's stories.

It is alleged that in August 2019, the defendants executed a three-part harassment campaign against the Natick couple. Among other things, several of the defendants ordered anonymous and disturbing deliveries to the victims' home, including a preserved fetal pig, a bloody pig Halloween mask and a book on surviving the loss of a spouse.

Aware that the police were investigating, the defendants allegedly sought to interfere with the investigation. For example, it is alleged that Cooke and several of the other defendants discussed the possibility of presenting Natick Police with a false investigative lead to keep the police from discovering video evidence that could link some of the deliveries to eBay employees.

The charges of conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses each carry a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/former-ebay-employee-pleads-guilty-aggressive-cyberstalking-campaign