Chiara Ferragni acquitted in alleged fraud case in Italy

The case focused on a promotional campaign for a designer pink pandoro and Easter eggs, which were said to help raise funds for a children’s hospital and charitable organizations. Investigators believed that consumers had been misled about how the proceeds would be used.

Following court proceedings in Milan, the court found Ferragni and two other defendants not guilty. Had a guilty verdict been delivered, the influencer could have faced a prison sentence.

The scandal, dubbed “pandorogate” by Italian media, began in 2022. Consumers believed that part of the revenue from the sale of special edition Christmas cakes would be donated to a children’s hospital in Turin. It later emerged that the product’s manufacturer had made a one-off donation of 50,000 euros to the hospital before the sales campaign began.

After public outcry, Ferragni pledged to donate to the hospital an amount comparable to the income generated by the promotional campaign. In 2023, Italy’s antitrust authority fined her 1 million euros for insufficient transparency regarding the charitable nature of the initiative.

Complaints related to the sale of Ferragni branded Easter eggs were also examined as part of the case. To settle these claims, the influencer agreed to donate 1.2 million euros to a children’s charity.

Prosecutors had sought to classify the actions as aggravated fraud and requested a sentence of one year and eight months in prison. However, the court ruled that there were no grounds to recognize aggravating circumstances.

Despite the acquittal, the case dealt a significant blow to Ferragni’s business reputation and affected her personal life.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Ferrari chairman and co-owner John Elkann was sentenced to one year of community service by decision of the Turin prosecutor’s office.