Stealing Millions for Luxury Life: Ex-Facebook and Nike DEI Manager's Shocking Fraud Revealed

Ever wondered how a successful employee could turn into a thief? Let's talk about Barbara Furlow-Smiles, who worked as a diversity program manager at Facebook and later Nike. She got caught red-handed stealing over $5 million! This was no small theft; she planned it meticulously with fake vendors, bogus invoices, and even friends in on the scam. The money went to fund her fancy lifestyle. How did she do it? First at Facebook, where she was a lead strategist and global head of employee resource groups. She linked several payment apps to her company credit cards and paid people for goods and services that never reached the company. Her friends and family played along, giving most of the money back to her.

You won't believe what she spent the money on! From $10,000 for specialty portraits to over $18,000 in preschool tuition. When Facebook fired her, she didn't stop there. She moved to Nike and continued her scheme as a senior DEI director, stealing another six-figure sum. The Department of Justice says she stole over $4.9 million from Facebook and more than $120,000 from Nike. That's a lot of money! After her prison sentence, she will be under supervised release for three years.

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