• Reuters, Wednesday, September 14, 2011 12:17 PM

U.S. prosecutors have reportedly launched a criminal probe into whether eBay employees took confidential information from Craigslist at the same as eBay was trying to build a rival classified ad service. Citing a copy of a grand jury subpoena, Reuters reports: "The subpoena seeks information regarding several eBay personalities, including founder and Chairman Pierre Omidyar and Joshua Silverman, the former Skype chief executive who served as eBay's representative on Craigslist's board."

As Reuters notes, the revelation follows years of feuding in civil court over allegations that eBay took a stake in Craigslist, and then misappropriated confidential information while it secretly planned its own classifieds site.

"Last year, a Delaware's Chancery Court judge ruled that Craigslist properly removed an eBay representative from its board," according to Reuters. "The judge also ruled that Craigslist could not dilute eBay's 28.4 percent stake in the company."

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