Ex-Facebook Diversity Exec Admits Stealing $4M From Company

by Iman Milner

December 13, 2023

Barbara Furlow-Smiles is currently being investigated by the FBI.

Barbara Furlow-Smiles, a former global diversity executive at parent company Meta’s Facebook, admitted to stealing over $4 million from the company through an elaborate scheme involving falsified vendor information, fake charges, and lucrative cash kickbacks. Charges against the Atlanta native were filed by U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, Fox 5 Atlanta reports.

Furlow-Smiles is currently being investigated by the FBI.

“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,” Buchanan said. “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.” Amongst her crimes was the submission of fake expense reports to Facebook used to cover up proof of Furlow-Smiles’ distribution of company funds to family, friends, and relatives who never rendered services to the tech giant.

According to the Department of Justice, the former lead strategist and global head of employee resource groups linked her Facebook-issued credit cards to PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App accounts. She later used the apps to send money to her loved ones, many of whom claimed they did not know the money was being illegally sent to them from the social networking leader. After receipt of the payments, recipients were allegedly instructed to dole out large portions back to Furlow-Smiles, often in cash or through accounts held in the names of others.

Furlow-Smiles also defrauded Facebook by encouraging the company to bring on vendors she was personally related to; after approving hefty contracts and invoices, she would demand that a portion of the money be returned to her. The DOJ reports that Furlow-Smiles procured a $10,000 payment to an artist for portraits and $18,000 for preschool tuition, amongst other non-work related and profitable false charges made on behalf of vendors who did not pay kickbacks.

“Furlow-Smiles used lies and deceit to defraud both vendors and Facebook employees,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI works hard to make sure greed like this doesn’t pay off and those who commit fraud are held accountable.”

Furlow-Smiles is scheduled to be sentenced on March 19, 2024.

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