Chiara Ferragni has been acquitted of aggravated fraud charges in the case known as the Pandoro Gate, bringing the proceedings to a close. The Milan court ruled that the alleged conduct does not constitute a criminal offence.

Prosecutors Eugenio Fusco and Cristian Barilli had requested a prison sentence of one year and eight months for the influencer, without mitigating circumstances. The case stemmed from promotional campaigns launched between 2021 and 2022 involving the Balocco Pink Christmas pandoro and Dolci Preziosi Easter eggs.

According to investigators from the Economic and Financial Police Unit of the Guardia di Finanza, Ferragni had allegedly misled followers and consumers by promoting the products as charitable initiatives. The prosecution claimed that consumers were led to believe that part of the purchase price would be donated to charity, while the donations were allegedly predetermined and not linked to sales, resulting in purported unjust profits of approximately €2.2 million.

The ruling was delivered by Judge Ilio Mannucci of the third criminal section of the Milan Tribunal. The court found that the essential subjective element of the offence — criminal intent — was lacking. In other words, judges concluded that there was no evidence of a deliberate intention to deceive consumers or to obtain unlawful profits through conscious misrepresentation.

The decision overturns the prosecutorial approach adopted by the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office, which had sought the same sentence for Ferragni’s former associate Fabio Damato. Prosecutors had instead requested a one-year sentence for Francesco Cannillo, president of Cerealitalia.

The verdict brings to an end one of the most high-profile judicial and media cases in Italy in recent years, linked to influencer marketing and charity-related commercial communications.

Chiara Ferragni e “Pandoro Gate”

The so-called Pandoro Gate case originated from promotional campaigns launched between 2021 and 2022 involving the Balocco Pink Christmas pandoro and Dolci Preziosi Easter eggs, which were marketed as charity-linked initiatives by Chiara Ferragni.

Prosecutors alleged that the marketing communications led consumers to believe that a portion of the product price would be donated to charity. According to the investigation, however, the charitable donations had been agreed in advance and were not directly tied to sales volumes.

Based on these claims, the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office charged Ferragni with aggravated fraud, arguing that the campaigns generated alleged unjust profits of around €2.2 million by misleading consumers.

In its ruling, the Milan court found that the conduct did not constitute a criminal offence, concluding that there was no evidence of criminal intent. As a result, Ferragni was fully acquitted and the case was closed.