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ATLANTA - Barbara Furlow-Smiles, a former global diversity executive at Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook, has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $4 million from the company. Furlow-Smiles utilized an elaborate scheme involving fraudulent vendors, fictitious charges, and cash kickbacks to carry out the fraud.

U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan expressed his concern over Furlow-Smiles' abuse 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." Buchanan further added, "Motivated by greed, she used her time to orchestrate an elaborate criminal scheme in which fraudulent vendors paid her kickbacks in cash. 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."

The scheme operated in two ways. First, Furlow-Smiles linked PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App accounts to her Facebook credit cards and used those accounts to pay friends, relatives, and associates for goods and services that were never provided to the company. To conceal the bogus charges on her Facebook credit cards, she submitted fraudulent expense reports, falsely claiming that her associates or their businesses performed work on programs and events for Facebook.

Second, Furlow-Smiles caused Facebook to onboard vendors owned and operated by friends and associates who also paid her kickbacks. After approving contracts for these vendors, she approved fraudulent and inflated invoices for their services. Once Facebook paid the invoices, she directed the vendors to return a portion of the money to her.

Furlow-Smiles recruited several individuals to receive money and pay kickbacks as part of the scheme, including friends, relatives, former interns, nannies, babysitters, a hair stylist, and her university tutor. She also had Facebook make payments for her benefit to others who did not pay kickbacks.

In total, Furlow-Smiles embezzled over $4 million from Facebook through fictitious charges and fraudulent invoices. The stolen funds were used to maintain a luxury lifestyle in California and Georgia.

Sentencing for Furlow-Smiles, also known as "Barbara Furlow," has been scheduled for March 19, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with valuable assistance and cooperation from Meta Platforms Inc.

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen H. McClain and Bernita B. Malloy. For further information, the U.S. Attorney's Public Affairs Office can be contacted at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.

This case serves as a reminder of the importance of trust and integrity in corporate environments. It highlights the need for diligent oversight and measures to prevent fraud and corruption within organizations.