Man Pleads Guilty In Cyberstalking Campaign Against Natick Couple

NATICK, MA — A California man on Tuesday pleaded guilty after participating in a cyberstalking campaign that included sending suspicious packages to, and surveilling, a Natick couple.

The couple, who have not been identified by name, ran an ecommerce newsletter that was critical of the online shopping website eBay, United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said in a news release.

The man, 55-year-old Philip Cooke, is a former police captain in Santa Clara, California. More recently, he was a supervisor of security operations for eBay's European and Asian offices.

He pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses.

U.S. Attorney Lelling alleges Cooke, along with six others, acted out a three-part cyberstalking campaign against the couple starting in August 2019.

Several of the defendants ordered disturbing items and had them shipped to the victims' Nantick home. Among the items was a preserved fetal pig, a bloody pig Halloween mask and a book about surviving the loss of a spouse, according to the release.

The campaign then began sending the couple private messages on Twitter and making public Twitter posts criticizing the newsletter and threatening to come to the victims' home.

Charging documents allege the campaign's participants doxed the victims, sharing their home address, and intended to send a former Santa Clara police captain to help the victims in an effort to promote good will toward eBay.

Lelling said the campaign culminated in the defendants surveilling the victims in their home and community, but the victims caught on and notified Natick police.

When campaign participants found out police were conducting an investigation, they deleted digital evidence and considered giving Natick police a false lead, the prosecutor alleged.

Cook — who pleaded guilty on Tuesday and is scheduled to be sentenced in February — joins the ranks of two others who have already pleaded guilty in the case: Stephanie Popp, 32, and Veronica Zea, 26. They are set to be sentenced on Feb. 25.

Leeling said David Harville, 48, and James Baugh, 45, were charged with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses in June.

Stephanie Stockwell, 26, and Brian Gilbert, 51, are also scheduled to plead guilty on Thursday.

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

The investigation was handled by U.S. Attorney Lelling, Joseph R. Bonavolonta of the Boston Field Division of the FBI and Natick Police, in collaboration with eBay.

It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto, Deputy Chief of Lelling’s Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit.