A former Facebook global diversity executive pleaded guilty to stealing more than $4 million from the social media giant to live a lavish lifestyle.

Barbara Furlow-Smiles, 38, used an elaborate scheme involving fraudulent vendors, fake charges and kickbacks, the Department of Justice said in a Dec. 12 statement. 

Federal authorities alleged that Furlow-Smiles linked her Facebook credit cards to PayPal, Venmo and Cash App accounts to pay friends, family members and associates for goods and services they did not provide to the company. They gave most of the money back to Furlow-Smiles in cash or transfers to her husband’s accounts.

Federal investigators said most of her associates were unaware that the payments came from Facebook. She concealed the bogus Facebook credit card charges through fraudulent expense reports.

Authorities also claimed that Furlow-Smiles led Facebook to approve several vendor contracts for businesses her friends and associates owned. They said she authorized purchase requisitions with those vendors for fraudulent and inflated invoices and in exchange, the vendors paid a kickback to Furlow-Smiles.

Kickbacks were not involved in all the transactions, according to investigators. In one instance, she caused Facebook to pay almost $10,000 to an artist for specialty portraits. In another example, the company paid more than $18,000 to a preschool for tuition.

Furlow-Smiles led Facebook’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) program from January 2017 to September 2021. Her job involved developing and executing DEI initiatives, operations, and engagement programs. 

“This defendant abused a position of trust as a global diversity executive for Facebook to defraud the company of millions of dollars, ignoring the insidious consequences of undermining the importance of her DEI mission,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said.

Furlow-Smiles is scheduled for sentencing on March 19, 2024.