May 18th 2024.
Barbara Furlow-Smiles, a former diversity program manager, has been sentenced to federal prison for orchestrating kickback schemes at both Facebook and Nike. Her fraudulent actions have cost her a lucrative career and a prison sentence of five years and three months. The 38-year-old admitted to stealing a whopping $5 million through her deceitful operations at the two companies.
According to Fox Business, Furlow-Smiles was shamelessly taking advantage of her position of trust at Facebook to scam the company out of millions of dollars. U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan expressed his disappointment, stating that she used her role as a DEI executive to manipulate the company's funds. Her elaborate scheme involved creating fake invoices, using fraudulent vendors, and accepting cash kickbacks.
From January 2017 until her dismissal in September 2021, Furlow-Smiles was responsible for spearheading Facebook's DEI programs. Her job was to create and implement initiatives, as well as engage with employees to promote diversity and inclusion. However, instead of fulfilling her duties, she was secretly funneling company money into her personal accounts on PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App. She then used this money to pay off acquaintances, family members, former interns, childcare providers, a stylist, and others for services they never provided to Facebook.
Even after her departure from Facebook, Furlow-Smiles continued her deceitful actions at Nike, where she held a senior director position from November 2021 to February 2023. She replicated her kickback strategy at her new workplace, stealing another six-figure sum from the company's diversity program. Buchanan condemned her actions, stating that her prison sentence reflects the consequences of orchestrating such an intricate scheme to defraud two different employers for personal gain.
Keri Farley, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Atlanta Field Office, also spoke out against Furlow-Smiles' greed, pointing out that not only did she throw away a successful career, but she will now serve time behind bars for her excessive actions. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia has ordered Furlow-Smiles to pay restitution of $4,981,783.58 to Facebook and $121,054.50 to Nike for her crimes. These funds were initially used to pay off her friends, relatives, former interns, nannies, babysitters, hairstylist, and others for goods and services that were never provided to Facebook.
It's a sad outcome for someone who was supposed to be promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Furlow-Smiles' actions have not only harmed the companies she worked for, but they have also damaged the trust of her colleagues and the public. Let this be a lesson that greed and deception will only lead to severe consequences.
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