A former executive at Facebook, who held a global diversity position, has admitted to stealing more than $4 million from the company. The Justice Department revealed that the theft was carried out through a fraudulent scheme that included creating fake vendors and receiving cash kickbacks.
Barbara Furlow-Smiles, 38, confessed to defrauding the company in a federal court in Georgia on Monday. She previously held various positions within Facebook’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, which granted her access to company credit cards. The Justice Department acknowledged that Meta provided “valuable” assistance and cooperation during the investigation.
From January 2017 to September 2021, she paid for goods and services using company credit cards, but these items were never actually provided. Furlow-Smiles, the individuals who received the payments, would then return the majority of the money to her. To conceal these transactions, she created false expense reports.
Furlow-Smiles not only assisted in getting her friends’ and associates’ companies involved as vendors at Facebook but also approved fraudulent and inflated invoices for these vendors in order to receive cash kickbacks.
According to a statement released by U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, these efforts aimed to fund a luxurious lifestyle through fraudulent means, rather than through honest and hard work.
The scheme involved a variety of individuals, including former interns from a previous job, nannies, babysitters, a hair stylist, and even her university tutor.
In addition, she used Facebook to pay an artist $10,000 for specialty portraits and spent over $18,000 on preschool tuition.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, did not provide a comment in response to The Messenger’s request. Lawyers representing Furlow-Smiles have chosen not to provide a comment to The Messenger. The sentencing for Furlow-Smiles has been scheduled for March 19, 2024.
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