What did Barbara Furlow Smiles do? Former Facebook diversity leader embroiled in embezzling more than $4 million

Former Facebook global diversity executive, Barbara Furlow Smiles has come under fire after she pleaded guilty to defrauding the company of millions of dollars. According to a December 12 report from the United States District Attorney Ryan Buchanan's office, Furlow Smiles allegedly stole over $4 million from the company to "fund a lavish lifestyle through fraud."

Barbara Furlow Smiles conducted a kickback scheme where she used Facebook credit cards to pay family and friends for services to the company that they never did and submitted fraudulent reports to the company claiming that they did. She then received most of the money back into her hands as cash payments or payments via other bank accounts from the people she initially sent the money.

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Barbara Furlow Smiles and her ingenious kickback scheme

Barbara Furlow Smiles worked as Facebook Inc.'s (now known as Meta Platforms) Lead Strategist, Global Head of Employee Resource Groups and Diversity Engagement. She led the company's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs from 2017 to 2021. She was in charge of executing all the initiatives and programs that came under the DEI program.

Furlow-Smiles' position provided her with access to company credit cards and held the authority to purchase requisitions and approve invoices to Facebook vendors. Tuesday's press release from the DA's office alleged that she used her position to "cheat and defraud the company" and described the entire process by which she allegedly did so.

Barbara Furlow Smiles would initially link all her online payment accounts to Facebook credit cards and pay her family, friends, and associates for services and goods to the company that they never provided. Many did not even know that the money they received was from Facebook.

Furlow Smiles submitted "fraudulent expense reports" to the company to cover her tracks, claiming that the people she sent money to, worked on "programs and events" for the company, like providing marketing and swag services. In reality, none of these people did anything for the company.

The cover of a book written by Barbara Furlow-Smiles and Ernest Smiles (Image via Amazon)

Most of the money was paid back to Furlow Smiles by the associates who received the money, as kickbacks. They transferred the money either as transactions into accounts under her husband's and other names or as cash payments through "Federal Express or mail". Some even paid her the money concealed and wrapped inside T-shirts.

She also coerced the company into onboarding several vendors that were owned and operated by her kickback-paying associates. After the company approved of their contracts, Barbara Furlow Smiles approved the purchase requisitions for these vendors, to work with the company.

These vendor purchase requisitions have inflated and false invoicing. Upon the successful payment of the fake invoice by the corporation, these colleagues would remunerate her with a share of the proceeds.

The report alleged that Furlow Smiles even directed associates to either pay one another or any person whom she owed money to, for further concealing the scheme. The people she recruited for this scheme include family, friends, former interns, babysitters, nannies, and also a hairstylist, and her university tutor.

Apart from this, she also allegedly used the company's money to make extravagant non-kickback payments. The report mentioned that she spent $10,000 on an artist for specialty portraits and $18,000 for preschool tuition. Her luxurious life in California and Georgia was allegedly built on over $4 million she stole from Facebook using "fictitious charges and fraudulent invoices".

U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan detailed that the 38-year-old abused her trusted position as a Facebook global diversity executive to defraud the company and ignore the "insidious consequences" that came with undermining her position. Buchanan stated:

"Motivated by greed, she used her time to orchestrate an elaborate criminal scheme in which fraudulent vendors paid her kickbacks in cash."

He added:

"She even involved relatives, friends, and other associates in her crimes, all to fund a lavish lifestyle through fraud rather than hard and honest work."

Facebook Inc., now Meta Platforms, said in a statement to CNBC that they are cooperating with law enforcement regarding the case, and will continue to do so. Barbara Furlow Smiles, who pleaded guilty to stealing over $4 million from Facebook, is currently free on a $5,000 bond but she is all set to be sentenced on March 19, 2024.