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

by Iman Milner

December 13, 2023

Barbara Furlow-Smiles is at the moment being investigated by the FBI.

Barbara Furlow-Smiles, a former international variety government at dad or mum firm Meta’s Fb, admitted to stealing over $4 million from the corporate via an elaborate scheme involving falsified vendor info, faux prices, and profitable money kickbacks. Expenses towards the Atlanta native have been filed by U.S. Legal professional Ryan Okay. Buchanan, Fox 5 Atlanta reviews.

Furlow-Smiles is at the moment being investigated by the FBI.

“This defendant abused a place of belief as a worldwide variety government for Fb to defraud the corporate of thousands and thousands of {dollars}, ignoring the insidious penalties of undermining the significance of her DEI mission,” Buchanan stated. “Motivated by greed, she used her time to orchestrate an elaborate prison scheme through which fraudulent distributors paid her kickbacks in money. She even concerned family, buddies, and different associates in her crimes, all to fund a lavish way of life via fraud relatively than arduous and sincere work.” Amongst her crimes was the submission of pretend expense reviews to Fb used to cowl up proof of Furlow-Smiles’ distribution of firm funds to household, buddies, and family who by no means rendered companies to the tech large.

In response to the Division of Justice, the previous lead strategist and international head of worker useful resource teams linked her Fb-issued bank cards to PayPal, Venmo, and Money App accounts. She later used the apps to ship cash to her family members, a lot of whom claimed they didn’t know the cash was being illegally despatched to them from the social networking chief. After receipt of the funds, recipients have been allegedly instructed to dole out massive parts again to Furlow-Smiles, typically in money or via accounts held within the names of others.

Furlow-Smiles additionally defrauded Fb by encouraging the corporate to convey on distributors she was personally associated to; after approving hefty contracts and invoices, she would demand {that a} portion of the cash be returned to her. The DOJ reviews that Furlow-Smiles procured a $10,000 fee to an artist for portraits and $18,000 for preschool tuition, amongst different non-work associated and worthwhile false prices made on behalf of distributors who didn’t pay kickbacks.

“Furlow-Smiles used lies and deceit to defraud each distributors and Fb workers,” stated Keri Farley, Particular Agent in Cost of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI works arduous to verify greed like this doesn’t repay and people who commit fraud are held accountable.”

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

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