Former Facebook Employee Pleads Guilty to Stealing $4 Million from Company
An ex-employee of Facebook, now Meta, has entered a guilty plea after being accused of stealing over $4 million from the social media giant. Barbara Furlow-Smiles, formerly the lead strategist and global head of employee resource groups and diversity engagement, admitted to fraudulent activities during her tenure from January 2017 to September 2021.
The guilty plea comes after an investigation led by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Ryan K. Buchanan’s Office. Furlow-Smiles misappropriated funds from Facebook by exploiting her position of trust, engaging in a scheme that undermined the company’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Buchanan expressed concern over the breach of trust, stating, “This defendant abused a position of trust as a global diversity executive for Facebook to defraud the company of millions of dollars, ignoring the insidious consequences of undermining the importance of her DEI mission.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Furlow-Smiles utilized her Facebook expense account to finance an extravagant lifestyle across California and Georgia. The misappropriated funds were directed towards personal expenses, including payments to hairstylists, babysitters, and an $18,000 payment to a preschool for tuition.
The fraudulent activities involved Furlow-Smiles linking her company credit cards to popular payment platforms such as PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App. Using these cards, she made payments for services that were never rendered. The recipients of these funds, including friends, relatives, and associates, would then return a portion of the money to Furlow-Smiles as kickbacks.
Buchanan’s Office revealed that Furlow-Smiles manipulated the process by creating inflated invoices for payments to vendors. These vendors, often connected to Furlow-Smiles through personal relationships, would return a portion of the payment to her.
The former Facebook executive’s sentencing is scheduled for March 19, 2024, highlighting the legal repercussions she will face for her embezzlement scheme.
