In a shocking revelation, a former diversity executive at Facebook and Nike, Barbara Furlow-Smiles, has been sentenced to over five years in federal prison for defrauding the companies of more than $5 million. The funds were intended for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives but were instead used to fund a lavish lifestyle across California, Georgia, and Oregon.
Furlow-Smiles, 38, was a trusted figure in her role as a DEI executive, responsible for developing and executing DEI initiatives, operations, and engagement programs. However, she exploited her position to orchestrate an elaborate scheme involving fraudulent vendors, fictitious invoices, and cash kickbacks.
"Furlow-Smiles shamelessly violated her position of trust as a DEI executive at Facebook to steal millions from the company," said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. "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."
The scheme involved linking her corporate credit cards to PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App accounts, which she used to pay friends, relatives, and other associates for goods and services that were never provided to the companies. To cover her tracks, Furlow-Smiles submitted fraudulent expense reports, falsely claiming that her associates had performed work for the companies.
After receiving the payments, these individuals were directed to return the majority of the money to Furlow-Smiles, often in cash or through account transfers. The cash kickbacks were sometimes delivered wrapped in items such as T-shirts to further conceal the fraudulent activities.
Furlow-Smiles also manipulated the vendor process at both companies, causing them to onboard vendors owned and operated by her associates who would then pay her kickbacks. After the companies paid the invoices, Furlow-Smiles directed the vendors to return a portion of the money they received to her.
The individuals involved in the scheme ranged from friends and relatives to former interns, nannies, babysitters, a hairstylist, and even her university tutor. Furlow-Smiles also manipulated the companies into making payments for her personal benefit to others who did not pay kickbacks, such as an artist for specialty portraits and a preschool for tuition.
After her termination from Facebook, Furlow-Smiles continued her fraudulent activities at Nike, where she was primarily responsible for a Juneteenth event in New York. She used the same fraudulent methods to siphon off over $120,000 from Nike.
In total, Furlow-Smiles stole more than $4.9 million from Facebook and over $120,000 from Nike. She has been ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,981,783.58 to Facebook and $121,054.50 to Nike, for a total of $5,102,838.08.
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