A former diversity program manager at Facebook and Nike has been sentenced to five years in prison for stealing more than $5 million from Facebook and Nike while working as a DEI executive.
Barbara Furlow-Smiles has been accused of " an elaborate scheme involving fraudulent vendors, fictitious paperwork, and cash kickbacks", a press release from the Department of Justice said this week.
U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan commented: “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.”
“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.
Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta added: “As Lead Strategist at Facebook, Furlow-Smiles’ employer put an extreme amount of trust in her, only to have that trust completely violated.”
Farley continued: “After she was fired, she carelessly continued her fraudulent schemes at Nike, thinking she was untouchable. As a result, she not only threw away a lucrative career, but will serve time behind bars for her excessive greed.”
The DOJ commented in their release that Furlow-Smiles served as Lead Strategist and Global Head of Employee Resource Groups and Diversity Engagement at Facebook (now Meta) from January 2017 to September 2021. According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, Furlow-Smiles misused her position to defraud Facebook by making payments for services never rendered and directing recipients to kick back the money to her.
She linked PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App accounts to her Facebook credit cards to pay associates for nonexistent services, then submitted false expense reports to hide the fraud. The kickbacks were often returned to her in cash or through account transfers, with some payments concealed in packages sent by mail.
Additionally, Furlow-Smiles onboarded vendors owned by friends and associates, approved fraudulent invoices, and received kickbacks from these payments. She recruited numerous individuals, including friends, relatives, and former interns, to participate in the scheme.
After leaving Facebook, Furlow-Smiles worked at Nike as Senior Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion from November 2021 to February 2023, where she was responsible for DEI initiatives and events, including a Juneteenth event in New York.
"In total, Furlow-Smiles stole more than $4.9 million from Facebook and over $120,000 from Nike based on fictitious charges and fraudulent invoices," the DOJ wrote. "She used the money to fund a luxury lifestyle in California, Georgia, and Oregon."
