Pandoro cake influencer cleared of aggravated fraud in Italy
The Italian fashion influencer has been acquitted of gross fraud, bringing an end to the long-running scandal surrounding her charity Christmas cake.
Chiara Ferragni was accused of misleading consumers by promoting the sale of Easter eggs alongside her pink Pandoro design, which was said to help raise money for a children’s hospital and a charity.
After a speedy trial in Milan, the judge found him and two other defendants not guilty. If convicted, he could have faced prison time.
Ferragni, 38, told reporters the decision was “the end of a nightmare that lasted two years.”
The scandal, dubbed “Pandurogate,” began in 2022 with the sale of pink special edition Christmas cakes.
Consumers were led to believe that Pandoro sales would go towards raising funds for a children’s hospital in Turin. However, it was revealed that the cake’s manufacturer, Balocco, made a one-off donation of €50,000 (£43,300) to the hospital before the cake was released.
Ferragni has 28 million followers on Instagram and after his companies earned €1 million from the promotion, he pledged to donate the same amount to the hospital.
The outcry led authorities to launch a formal investigation, and the influencer was fined €1 million by Italy’s competition authority in 2023 for his eponymous pandoro cakes, which mention the children’s hospital.
Ferragni-branded Easter eggs also became part of the scandal, which led to the influencer agreeing to pay €1.2 million to a children’s charity to resolve complaints about claims that its egg sales misled consumers.
He was later charged with aggravated fraud along with his business partner Fabio Damato.
Prosecutors had requested a prison sentence of one year and eight months for Ferragni, but the judge rejected the accusations that fraud should be aggravated.
The Milan court concluded that there was no aggravation because a consumer group withdrew its initial complaint. Ferragni agreed with consumer organization Codacons that he would compensate consumers and donate money to a charity for women experiencing gender-based violence.
“We are all impressed,” Ferragni told reporters at the end of the hearing. “The last two years have been very difficult. I had faith in justice and justice was served.”
Although he was acquitted, the scandal damaged Ferragni’s brand and affected his personal life. Her marriage to Italian rapper Fedez broke up last year.
This has also led to stricter rules for Italian influencers to show greater transparency in their fundraising initiatives.
