A former executive at Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has pleaded guilty in Atlanta to embezzling over $4 million from the social media giant.
Barbara Furlow-Smiles, who served as a lead strategist and global head of employee resource groups and diversity engagement at Facebook from January 2017 to September 2021, entered her plea, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
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U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan stated, “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.”
The prosecution revealed that Furlow-Smiles misused her Facebook expense account to finance an extravagant lifestyle in California and Georgia.
The fraudulent activities included covering personal expenses such as hair stylists, babysitters, and $18,000 in tuition for a preschool.
To execute her scheme, Furlow-Smiles reportedly linked her company credit cards to PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App, making payments for services that were never rendered.
Payments were then returned to her as kickbacks by friends, relatives, and associates who had received the funds.
Investigators disclosed that Furlow-Smiles even involved her network in the fraudulent activities, creating inflated invoices to pay individuals who would then return a portion of the funds to her.
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Buchanan emphasized, “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.”
Sentencing for Barbara Furlow-Smiles is scheduled for March 19, 2024.
