Brice E. Anderson and Terrance Lockett have admitted to conspiring with Barbara Furlow-Smiles, a former diversity program manager at Facebook, to defraud the company through fraudulent vendors, false invoices, and cash kickbacks.
“These defendants conspired with a DEI executive at Facebook to steal significant sums from the company, based on false claims that they had worked on various DEI projects,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Instead, the defendants did little to no work, paid kickbacks to the Facebook executive, and lined their pockets with stolen money. They are now being held accountable for their brazen fraud.”
“Furlow-Smiles created a complex web of lies, all for her personal gain. Anderson and Lockett joined in this fraud for their own excessive greed,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown. “The FBI remains steadfast in our commitment to root out financial fraud.”
Court records show that Furlow-Smiles served as Lead Strategist and Global Head of Employee Resource Groups and Diversity Engagement at Facebook (now Meta Platforms, Inc.) from January 2017 to September 2021. She was responsible for overseeing diversity initiatives and had authority over corporate credit cards and vendor approvals. Furlow-Smiles also held a similar position at Nike.
Prosecutors say she used her access at both companies to direct payments to friends, relatives, and associates for services not rendered. These individuals were then instructed to return much of the money to her as kickbacks.
Anderson operated Titan Branding LLC and collaborated with Furlow-Smiles to obtain nearly $1.2 million from Facebook by submitting invoices for work that was never completed. Furlow-Smiles used her corporate credit card for these payments and submitted expense reports covering up the charges. She also approved Titan Branding as an authorized vendor using fraudulent documentation claiming media services were provided for events such as Juneteenth.
After receiving funds from Facebook, Anderson sent substantial amounts back to Furlow-Smiles via cash or transfers into accounts associated with her husband or others. Sometimes he concealed cash inside items like T-shirts or hats shipped by FedEx; other times he delivered cash directly when meeting her in Los Angeles.
Lockett’s involvement centered on his business Officially Outed Media and his podcast “Officially Outed Podcast.” He received over $243,000 after Furlow-Smiles used her corporate credit card for services that were never performed and falsely documented marketing support for events like the Global Pride Initiative.
Both men returned portions of these funds as kickbacks.
On November 13, 2025, Anderson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud; sentencing is set for March 9, 2026 before Judge Steven D. Grimberg. Lockett pleaded guilty on November 5, 2025; his sentencing is scheduled for February 18, 2026 before Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr.
Furlow-Smiles previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud involving more than $5 million in losses between Facebook and Nike. On May 13, 2024 she was sentenced to five years and three months in prison followed by supervised release; restitution was ordered totaling over $5 million.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation while Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen H. McClain and Bernita B. Malloy are prosecuting the cases.
Further information can be obtained from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia at http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
