A former diversity program manager at Facebook and Nike who stole more than $5 million from the giant companies to fund a “luxury lifestyle” was sentenced Monday to five years in prison and ordered to repay the large sum.
Barbara Farlow Smiles, 38, organized fake business meetings, invoices, Juneteenth celebrations and other events to line her pockets, the Justice Department said.
“Farlow Smiles shamelessly violated his position of trust as Facebook’s DEI executive and stole millions of dollars from Facebook through a scheme involving fraudsters, fake invoices, and cash kickbacks. ,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. said in a statement.
“After being fired from Facebook, she brazenly continued her fraud as Nike’s DEI lead, stealing an additional six-figure sum from our diversity program.”
In December, Farlow Smiles defrauded Facebook of more than $4.9 million and then extorted another six-figure sum from Nike “to fund a lavish lifestyle in California, Georgia, and Oregon.” He pleaded guilty to the fraud scheme, the Justice Department said. .
The social media company claimed that her “crimes also caused suffering to employees who worked closely with her,” but Nike said her “lack of accountability and remorse was incredible,” according to the sentencing memo. It was unfortunate,” he said. Obtained by CNBC.
Prosecutors said the Georgia native “led Facebook’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program and was responsible for developing and implementing DEI initiatives, operations, and engagement programs.”
She used her access to the company’s credit cards and the ability to approve invoices from authorized vendors to trick friends and relatives into paying for “goods and services that were never actually provided to Facebook.” He paid a number of individuals including:
Those individuals allegedly included her former intern, her “university tutor,” hairstylist, babysitter, and nanny who would later funnel kickbacks to Farlow Smiles.
Most of the employees were reportedly unaware that the funds were coming from Facebook and returned the funds to Farlow Smiles in cash or direct debit. Federal authorities said the cash was sometimes delivered to Farlow Smiles wrapped in T-shirts or other items.
She also misled Facebook into sending money to an organization that did not offer kickbacks. That included nearly $10,000 to an artist who created a special portrait and more than $18,000 to an unnamed preschool.
To cover her tracks, the disgraced DEI employee filed false expense reports claiming that her colleagues had performed work for Facebook, including providing stolen goods and marketing services.
Keri Farley, special agent in charge of the FBI in Atlanta, said that when Farlow Smiles was fired from Facebook, she “thought she was untouchable and carelessly continued her fraud scheme at Nike.” Told.
“As a result, she not only gave up a lucrative career, but also ended up serving time in prison for her excessive greed.”
As Senior Director of DEI for a sports apparel company, Farlow Smiles was responsible for supporting DEI initiatives, developing strategy, hosting DEI events, and had primary responsibility for hosting Juneteenth events in New York .
To celebrate, Farlow Smiles followed the same process she did on Facebook. She paid employees with Nike corporate cards linked to her PayPal and Venmo accounts in exchange for kickbacks, then submitted false expense reports. It was related to the Juneteenth event. ”
In total, Farlow Smiles extorted more than $490,000 from Facebook and more than $120,000 from Nike, and a judge ordered him to repay both companies in full.
She was sentenced to five years and three months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Neither Facebook nor Nike responded to requests for comment.
