A former diversity manager at Facebook and Nike has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison for stealing over $5 million from the companies, which was intended for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
CNBC reports that Barbara Furlow-Smiles, a 38-year-old Georgia resident, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in December after being accused of stealing more than $4.9 million from Facebook and an additional six-figure sum from Nike. According to Atlanta U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan, Furlow-Smiles used a scheme involving “fraudulent vendors, fake invoices, and cash kickbacks” to siphon funds from Facebook, where she worked as a lead strategist and global head of employee resource groups and diversity engagement.
Prosecutors stated that Furlow-Smiles began the scheme within months of joining Facebook in 2017. She linked PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App accounts to her Facebook credit cards and used those accounts to pay friends, relatives, and others for purported goods and services that were never delivered. The majority of the money was then kicked back to Furlow-Smiles.
