A former diversity program manager at Nike and Facebook who stole more than $5 million from major corporations to support a lavish lifestyle has been sentenced to five years in prison. United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia.
Barbara Farlow Smiles, 38, organized false business meetings, invoices, Juneteenth celebrations and other events to line her own pockets.
“Farlow Smiles shamelessly violated his position of trust as Facebook’s DEI executive and used a scheme involving fraudsters, bogus invoices, and cash kickbacks to remove funds from Facebook,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan. He stole millions of dollars.”
‘[S]He thought she was untouchable and carelessly continued his scheme to defraud her with Nike. ”
“After being fired from Facebook, she brazenly continued her fraud as Nike’s DEI lead, stealing another six-figure sum from their diversity program. It reflects the result of her decision to orchestrate a complex plan to deceive two people.
new york post report Farlow Smiles pleaded guilty in December to a wire fraud scheme in which he allegedly took $4.9 million from Facebook and later siphoned a six-figure sum from Nike.
The social media giant claimed that Farlow Smiles’ “crimes have also caused distress to employees who worked closely with her.” “The total lack of accountability and remorse was incredibly disappointing,” the company said in a memo obtained by Nike. CNBC.
According to prosecutors in the case, Farlow Smiles “led diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at Facebook from early 2017 to the end of 2021, developing and implementing DEI initiatives, operations, and engagement programs.” “I was in charge of that,” he said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Farlow Smiles was able to involve others in his scheme, including “friends, relatives, interns from previous jobs, nannies and babysitters, hair stylists, and family members from college.” It was pointed out that teachers were included.
“As Facebook’s chief strategist, Farlow Smiles’ employer had the utmost trust in her, and that trust was completely betrayed,” said Keri Farley, FBI special agent in charge of Atlanta. “After she was fired, she thought she was untouchable and carelessly continued her misbehavior at Nike. As a result, not only did she abandon her lucrative career, but she He will serve time in prison for his excessive greed.”
The New York Post reported that neither Facebook nor Nike responded to requests for comment.
Do you like Blaze News? Avoid censorship and sign up for our newsletter to get articles like this delivered straight to your inbox. Register here!
