This is, I admit, very funny to me.
Major corporations are so focused on virtue signaling that I suspect that many CEOs see DEI departments as just the cost of doing business, although that is a huge mistake. Their companies are getting hollowed out and they are scared to do anything about it.
One example of this phenomenon is what happened at Facebook and Nike, where their DEI grifter took them for millions of dollars.
The global head of “diversity engagement” at Facebook used her position to flagrantly steal almost $5 million. After being caught, Facebook fired her, so she lateraled to another diversity job at Nike, where she promptly stole even more money.
It’s not always this literal, but… pic.twitter.com/H3qrRWu16R
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 17, 2024
Luckily, she is going to jail because she is too greedy to avoid getting caught.
Her story is funny, although if I were Nike I would sue Facebook for not warning them about what a scammer she was.
ATLANTA – Barbara Furlow-Smiles, a former diversity program manager at Facebook and Nike, has been sentenced for stealing more than $5 million based on an elaborate scheme involving fraudulent vendors, fictitious paperwork, and cash kickbacks.
“Furlow-Smiles shamelessly violated her position of trust as a DEI executive at Facebook to steal millions from the company utilizing a scheme involving fraudulent vendors, fake invoices, and cash kickbacks,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “After being terminated from Facebook, she brazenly continued the fraud as a DEI leader at Nike, where she stole another six-figure sum from their diversity program. Her prison sentence reflects the consequences of her decision to orchestrate an intricate scheme to defraud two of her employers for personal profit.”
“As Lead Strategist at Facebook, Furlow-Smiles’ employer put an extreme amount of trust in her, only to have that trust completely violated,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “After she was fired, she carelessly continued her fraudulent schemes at Nike, thinking she was untouchable. As a result, she not only threw away a lucrative career, but will serve time behind bars for her excessive greed.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Barbara Furlow-Smiles served as Lead Strategist, Global Head of Employee Resource Groups and Diversity Engagement at Facebook, Inc., now known as Meta Platforms, Inc., doing business as Meta. From January 2017 to September 2021, she led Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs at Facebook and was responsible for developing and executing DEI initiatives, operations, and engagement programs. In her position, Furlow-Smiles had access to company credit cards. She also had the authority to submit purchase requisitions and approve invoices for authorized vendors of Facebook.
Furlow-Smiles used her position at Facebook to cheat and defraud the company. She caused Facebook to pay numerous individuals for goods and services that were never provided and then directed those individuals to kick back the fraudulent proceeds to her, often in cash. Her
Facebook apparently caught her and fired her, but Nike was willing to give her another lucrative job.
Are there really so few DEI grifters that they needed to hire somebody like her?
After Furlow-Smiles was terminated from Facebook, she worked for Nike from November 2021 to February 2023, serving as Senior Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. In that position, she was responsible for supporting DEI initiatives, developing strategies, and hosting DEI events. She was primarily responsible for a Juneteenth event in New York during her time at Nike.
As she had done at Facebook, Furlow-Smiles circumvented the vendor process at Nike to commit fraud. She linked her Nike corporate card to her PayPal and Venmo accounts. She then paid her associates with PayPal and Venmo, causing fraudulent charges to her Nike card. The associates kicked back portions of the payments to Furlow-Smiles, who submitted fraudulent expense reports to Nike to cover her tracks. The expense reports falsely claimed that the payments were related to the Juneteenth event.
In total, Furlow-Smiles stole more than $4.9 million from Facebook and over $120,000 from Nike based on fictitious charges and fraudulent invoices. She used the money to fund a luxury lifestyle in California, Georgia, and Oregon.
I am a bit disappointed she didn’t take Nike for more cash. If you are going to commit a crime, go big. Kudos to her for ripping off nearly $5 million from Facebook.
Furlow-Smiles put the “Didn’t Earn It” into DEI.
She did the meme.