Ferragni faces jail if found guilty of alleged fraud involving charity endorsement deals.
Milan prosecutors on Tuesday sought a prison sentence of one year and eight months for Italian social media influencer Chiara Ferragni in a case of alleged fraud involving the sale of charity Christmas cakes and Easter eggs.
The Milan-based entrepreneur faces accusations of aggravated fraud in relation to the ‘Pandorogate case’ in which she is accused of profiting handsomely from charity drives involving the sale of a “designer” pandoro, produced by Balocco, and chocolate Easter eggs produced by Dolci Preziosi.
Ferragni, 38, denies any wrongdoing and has vowed to prove her innocence, stating during the hearing on Tuesday that she had always acted in good faith, telling reporters outside the court: “I am confident… I can’t add anything else.”
The defence’s closing argument will be presented at the next session in the fast-track, closed-door hearing, on 19 December, and a verdict is expected in January.
The crime of aggravated fraud in Italy carries a prison sentence of between one and five years.
Background to the case
The prosecution claims that Ferragni misled consumers into thinking that their purchases of a pricey pandoro cake would help to fund medical equipment for a children’s hospital in Turin.
The pink pandoro went on sale in Italy in 2022 with a price tag of €9, more than double the normal retail price of unbranded cakes made by confectioner Balocco.
In December 2023, Italy’s antitrust authority fined Ferragni more than €1 million for “unfair commericial practices” in relation to the branded pandoro.
The competition authority also handed a fine of €420,000 to Balocco which it found had made a one-off donation of €50,000 to the hospital months in advance of the pandoro going on the market.
The authority also found that two Ferragni-controlled companies received promotional fees of around €1 million, none of which was handed over to the children’s hospital.
At the time, Ferragni responded with an emotional video in which she apologised for the pandoro case, admitting to a “communication error” but claiming it was a “mistake made in good faith”.
In the wake of the controversy, Ferragni donated €1 million to the Regina Margherita children’s hospital in Turin and vowed to keep business and charity “completely separate” in the future.
Easter eggs
A similar case involving Ferragni-branded Easter eggs in support of I Bambini delle Fate, an association that helps children with autism, allegedly earned the social media star far in excess of the amount that was given to the charitable cause.
After reaching an agreement with the antitrust authority, Ferragni paid the Bambini delle Fate association €1.2 million.
In February last year Ferragni split from her rapper husband Fedez after five years of marriage.
Photo credit: sama_ja – Shutterstock.com.
