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Barbara Furlow Smiles who formerly served as Facebook’s global diversity strategist reportedly stole more than $4 million from the social media giant “to fund a lavish lifestyle” in California and Georgia.
Who Is Barbara Furlow Smiles?
Barbara Furlow Smiles is a 38-year-old woman from Atlanta. She has recently pleaded guilty to engaging in fraudulent activities when she was working with Facebook. From 2017 to 2021, she played a vital role in the development and implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at Facebook, now known as Meta.
With over a decade of experience, Barbara possesses a strategic and extensive background in managing Diversity and Employee Resource Groups. Prior to her time at Facebook, Barbara served as the Manager for Diversity and Inclusion at MTV Networks in New York. During her tenure, she also led the diversity strategy for internal Engagement and Employee Affinity Groups on both domestic and global levels.
Her influence extended to various offices, including those in London, Miami, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, and Washington D.C. This showcases her dedication to promoting diversity and inclusion across different locations. Because of her extraordinary inclusivity, she was named Employee of the Month in 2013, outperforming over 15,000 colleagues.
In her capacity as Cox Communications’ Programme Manager for University Relations/Diversity in Atlanta, she successfully managed the entire hiring process for two programs—Technology Co-ops and Summer Interns—that annually improved the lives of over 200 students. Her noteworthy accomplishments went beyond recruiting; she was instrumental in creating important diversity alliances with prominent HBCUs like Howard University, Spelman College, and Morehouse College.
What Did Barbara Furlow Smiles Do?
Barbara Furlow-Smiles, who led various initiatives promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion on Facebook between 2017 and mid-2021, has been accused by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta of embezzling more than $4 million from the social media platform through a complex scheme.
According to a federal complaint, Furlow-Smiles allegedly orchestrated the fraud by linking her PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App accounts to credit cards provided by Facebook. She then used these accounts to make payments to friends, family members, former interns from a previous job, nannies, babysitters, a hairstylist, and others for goods and services that were never actually provided to the company.
According to the Department of Justice, Furlow-Smiles cunningly submitted false expense reports, claiming that individuals had worked on Facebook events and programs, all in an attempt to conceal her fraudulent activities. After being hired, she allegedly approved exaggerated and deceitful invoices. As part of her scheme, she received a portion of the illicit funds paid to undisclosed vendors.
The accusation also alleges that she duped Facebook into making payments to organizations that were not involved in any kickback schemes, including a preschool that received over $18,000 and an artist who charged nearly $10,000 for custom artwork.
It is unclear at this time whether her associates will face charges related to the fraudulent activities. Prosecutors allege that once these individuals received the payments, they would reimburse a portion of the funds to Furlow-Smiles. These alleged kickbacks were reportedly made in cash or transferred to accounts under different names, including Furlow-Smiles’ husband, according to the prosecutors’ claims.
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