OAN’s Avril Elfie
1:19pm – Tuesday, May 14, 2024
A former diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) manager for Facebook and Nike has been found guilty of wire fraud worth more than $5 million.
advertisement
Barbara Farlow Smiles, 38, pleaded guilty in December 2023 to stealing millions of dollars from tech companies through cash kickbacks, fabricated claims and fake vendors.
United States Attorney’s Office A press release has been published on monday. It states that Farlow Smiles “must now pay restitution of $4,981,783.58 to Facebook and $121,054.50 to Nike, for a total of $5,102,838.08.”
According to the complaint, the defendants linked Facebook (now Meta) credit cards to their PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App accounts and used them to pay friends and colleagues for services unrelated to Facebook. Ta.
She reportedly intended to file a false report to cover up her plans.
Furlow-Smiles will also include Facebook-powered vendors owned by friends and colleagues.
She instructed the vendor to return some of the money to her after approving the contract and invoice.
Friends, relatives, past interns, nannies, babysitters, hairdressers, and college tutors all participated. For example, Farlow Smiles forced Facebook to pay more than $18,000 in preschool tuition and forced an artist to pay nearly $10,000 for a professional portrait.
Prosecutors allege Farlow Smiles engaged in similar fraud while working as a senior DEI director at Nike from November 2023 to February 2023, after leaving Facebook. Farlow Smiles, who was in charge of Nike’s Juneteenth event in New York, “circumvented the vendor process” by connecting PayPal and his Venmo account to his Nike credit card. did. Prosecutors say she then used those accounts to pay people associated with her, falsely claiming they were paying them to attend events, and accepting bribes.
“In total, Farlow Smiles stole more than $4.9 million from Facebook and more than $120,000 from Nike based on fictitious and fraudulent invoices,” the press release reads in part. “She used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle in California, Georgia and Oregon.”
In addition to paying restitution, Farlow Smiles was sentenced to 63 months in prison and will be under supervision until he begins serving his sentence on July 22.n.d..
Stay informed. Receive breaking news directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Please share this post!
