Former DEI Executive For Facebook, Nike Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Scheme
Barbara Furlow-Smiles, a former diversity program manager at Facebook and Nike, has been sentenced for orchestrating a scheme that defrauded more than $5 million through fraudulent vendors, fictitious paperwork, and cash kickbacks.
Furlow-Smiles siphoned more than $4.9 million from Facebook and over $120,000 from Nike through fictitious charges and fraudulent invoices.
U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg sentenced the 38-year-old Georgia resident to five years and three months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Furlow-Smiles must also pay $4,981,783.58 in restitution to Facebook and $121,054.50 to Nike, totaling $5,102,838.08.
She was convicted of wire fraud on December 11, 2023, after pleading guilty.
U.S. Attorney Buchanan said the charges and other information presented in court reveal that Furlow-Smiles served as Lead Strategist, Global Head of Employee Resource Groups and Diversity Engagement at Facebook, now known as Meta.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta highlighted that Furlow-Smiles led Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs at Facebook, developing and executing DEI initiatives from January 2017 to September 2021.
She had access to company credit cards and the authority to submit purchase requisitions and approve invoices for authorized vendors of Facebook.
“Furlow-Smiles shamelessly violated her position of trust as a DEI executive at Facebook to steal millions from the company utilizing a scheme involving fraudulent vendors, fake invoices, and cash kickbacks,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.
“After being terminated from Facebook, she brazenly continued the fraud as a DEI leader at Nike, where she stole another six-figure sum from their diversity program. Her prison sentence reflects the consequences of her decision to orchestrate an intricate scheme to defraud two of her employers for personal profit,” he added.
Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta Keri Farley said, “As Lead Strategist at Facebook, Furlow-Smiles’ employer put an extreme amount of trust in her, only to have that trust completely violated.”
“After she was fired, she carelessly continued her fraudulent schemes at Nike, thinking she was untouchable,” she continued. “As a result, she not only threw away a lucrative career, but will serve time behind bars for her excessive greed.”
Prosecutors said that among other offenses, 38-year-old Furlow-Smiles caused the Meta subsidiary to pay people for goods and services that were never provided to the company.
She then had those individuals pay her kickbacks, CNBC outlined..
The Attorney’s office detailed that Furlow-Smiles’ fraudulent activities followed a two-pronged approach.
She first connected PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App accounts to her Facebook credit cards, channeling payments to friends, relatives, and associates for goods and services that were never actually provided to Facebook.
She submitted fake expense reports to mask these phony charges, falsely asserting that her associates or their businesses had delivered services such as providing marketing for Facebook programs and events.
After these individuals received payments from Facebook, they returned the majority of the funds to Furlow-Smiles in the form of cash and through account transfers to others.
Furlow-Smiles enlisted a wide range of individuals to join her scheme, recruiting her husband, friends, relatives, former interns, nannies, babysitters, a hair stylist, and her university tutor.
The cash kickbacks were delivered in person and via Federal Express or mail, often hidden in items like T-shirts.
Furlow-Smiles also directed associates to pay one another, or others to whom she owed money, to obscure her involvement in the scam, authorities reported.
Furlow-Smiles then arranged for Facebook to onboard several vendors operated by her friends and associates, who then paid her kickbacks.
She approved fraudulent invoices from these vendors, and after Facebook disbursed the payments, she instructed the vendors to return a portion of the money to her.
Furlow-Smiles secured a position at Nike following her termination from Facebook.
She worked at Nike as Senior Director of DEI where she developed strategies and hosted events from November 2021 to February 2023.
Furlow-Smiles siphoned more than $4.9 million from Facebook and over $120,000 from Nike through fictitious charges and fraudulent invoices.
U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg sentenced the 38-year-old Georgia resident to five years and three months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Furlow-Smiles must also pay $4,981,783.58 in restitution to Facebook and $121,054.50 to Nike, totaling $5,102,838.08.
She was convicted of wire fraud on December 11, 2023, after pleading guilty.
U.S. Attorney Buchanan said the charges and other information presented in court reveal that Furlow-Smiles served as Lead Strategist, Global Head of Employee Resource Groups and Diversity Engagement at Facebook, now known as Meta.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta highlighted that Furlow-Smiles led Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs at Facebook, developing and executing DEI initiatives from January 2017 to September 2021.
She had access to company credit cards and the authority to submit purchase requisitions and approve invoices for authorized vendors of Facebook.
“Furlow-Smiles shamelessly violated her position of trust as a DEI executive at Facebook to steal millions from the company utilizing a scheme involving fraudulent vendors, fake invoices, and cash kickbacks,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.
“After being terminated from Facebook, she brazenly continued the fraud as a DEI leader at Nike, where she stole another six-figure sum from their diversity program. Her prison sentence reflects the consequences of her decision to orchestrate an intricate scheme to defraud two of her employers for personal profit,” he added.
Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta Keri Farley said, “As Lead Strategist at Facebook, Furlow-Smiles’ employer put an extreme amount of trust in her, only to have that trust completely violated.”
“After she was fired, she carelessly continued her fraudulent schemes at Nike, thinking she was untouchable,” she continued. “As a result, she not only threw away a lucrative career, but will serve time behind bars for her excessive greed.”
Prosecutors said that among other offenses, 38-year-old Furlow-Smiles caused the Meta subsidiary to pay people for goods and services that were never provided to the company.
She then had those individuals pay her kickbacks, CNBC outlined..
The Attorney’s office detailed that Furlow-Smiles’ fraudulent activities followed a two-pronged approach.
She first connected PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App accounts to her Facebook credit cards, channeling payments to friends, relatives, and associates for goods and services that were never actually provided to Facebook.
She submitted fake expense reports to mask these phony charges, falsely asserting that her associates or their businesses had delivered services such as providing marketing for Facebook programs and events.
After these individuals received payments from Facebook, they returned the majority of the funds to Furlow-Smiles in the form of cash and through account transfers to others.
Furlow-Smiles enlisted a wide range of individuals to join her scheme, recruiting her husband, friends, relatives, former interns, nannies, babysitters, a hair stylist, and her university tutor.
The cash kickbacks were delivered in person and via Federal Express or mail, often hidden in items like T-shirts.
Furlow-Smiles also directed associates to pay one another, or others to whom she owed money, to obscure her involvement in the scam, authorities reported.
Furlow-Smiles then arranged for Facebook to onboard several vendors operated by her friends and associates, who then paid her kickbacks.
She approved fraudulent invoices from these vendors, and after Facebook disbursed the payments, she instructed the vendors to return a portion of the money to her.
Furlow-Smiles secured a position at Nike following her termination from Facebook.
She worked at Nike as Senior Director of DEI where she developed strategies and hosted events from November 2021 to February 2023.
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