Ex-diversity boss at Facebook, Nike who orchestrated fake events to steal $5M gets five years, must pay back hefty sum

The ex-diversity program manager for Facebook and Nike who stole more than $5 million from the mega companies to fund her “luxury lifestyle” was sentenced Monday to five years behind bars — and ordered to pay back the hefty sum.

Barbara Furlow-Smiles, 38, set up fake business deals, invoices and events — including a Juneteenth celebration — to line her own pockets, the Justice Department said.

“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 US Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a statement.

“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.”

Furlow-Smiles pleaded guilty in December to the wire fraud scheme, which saw her take more than $4.9 million from Facebook before bilking another six-figure sum from Nike “to fund a luxury lifestyle in California, Georgia, and Oregon,” the DOJ said.

The social media company claimed her “crimes also resulted in anguish amongst those employees that worked closely with her,” while Nike slammed her “complete lack of accountability or remorse was incredibly disappointing,” according to sentencing memos obtained by CNBC.