A former manager in Facebook’s diversity program pleaded guilty to stealing more than $4 million from the social media company. According to the Justice Department, the scheme involved forging business deals and receiving kickbacks. Barbara Furlow-Smiles, 38, admitted to defrauding her company and living a lavish lifestyle.
From January 2017 to September 2021, Furlow-Smiles worked at Facebook as the Lead Strategist, Global Head of Employee Resource Groups, and Diversity Engagement. During that time, attorneys from the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia claimed she defrauded the company of over $4 million. Furlow-Smiles allegedly submitted fraudulent invoices to Facebook in exchange for large kickbacks.
Barbara Furlow-Smiles linked her PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App accounts to her Facebook credit cards
Furlow-Smiles allegedly “caused Facebook to pay numerous individuals,” including friends and relatives, for “goods and services never actually provided to the company.”
These individuals would later channel kickbacks to Furlow-Smiles. She allegedly used the stolen money to live a lavish lifestyle in both California and Georgia.
“This defendant abused a position of trust as a global diversity executive for Facebook to defraud the company of millions of dollars, ignoring the insidious consequences of undermining the importance of her DEI mission,” said US Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.
“Motivated by greed, she used her time to orchestrate an elaborate criminal scheme in which fraudulent vendors paid her kickbacks in cash. She even involved relatives, friends, and other associates in her crimes, all to fund a lavish lifestyle through fraud rather than hard and honest work.”
Furlow-Smiles’ scheme worked in two ways, causing Facebook to pay for goods and services that were never delivered, while she allegedly received kickbacks from both.
According to reports, the ex-diversity executive linked her PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App accounts to her Facebook credit cards. She is accused of using these accounts to make payments to friends, relatives, and associates while falsely claiming that the transactions were for goods and services rendered to Facebook.
In reality, the company received no such goods or services. Furlow-Smiles allegedly submitted fabricated expense reports, falsely claiming that her associates had delivered services such as merchandise or marketing, to conceal these fraudulent charges.
When her associates received payments from Facebook, they allegedly returned the majority of the funds to Furlow-Smiles, either in cash or by transferring money to accounts in her or her husband’s names.
Furlow-Smiles will be sentenced on March 19, 2024
Furlow-Smiles is also accused of defrauding Facebook by directing funds to entities that did not participate in kickback schemes. This included approximately $10,000 going to an artist in charge of creating specialty portraits and more than $18,000 going to an unnamed preschool.
According to FBI Special Agent Keri Farley, “Furlow-Smiles used lies and deceit to defraud both vendors and Facebook employees.”
According to the DOJ, Meta “provided valuable assistance and cooperation during the investigation.”
“We are cooperating with law enforcement on the case regarding this former program manager, and we will continue to do so,” Meta said in a statement. Furlow-Smiles will be sentenced on March 19, 2024.