Chiara Ferragni to stand trial over fraud accusation
Influencer Chiara Ferragni has been ordered to stand trial in a case of alleged fraud involving the sale of charity Christmas cakes and Easter eggs. The trial is set to begin in Milan in September.
Milan prosecutors on Wednesday indicted the social media influencer and entrepreneur on charges of aggravated fraud in the Pandogoroto Case.
The social media star is accused of profiting handsomely from charity drives involving the sale of the “designer” pandoro, produced by Balocco, and chocolate Easter eggs made by Dolci Preziosi. E Ferragni has been ordered to stand trial in a case of alleged fraud involving the sale of charity Christmas cakes and Easter eggs.
The Pink Pandoro went on sale in Italy in 2022 with a price tag of €9, more than double the regular retail price of unbranded cakes made by confectioner Balocco.
In December 2023, the Italian antitrust authority fined Ferragni over €1 million for misleading consumers into thinking purchasing a pricey pandoro cake would help fund medical equipment for a children’s hospital in Turin.
The competition authority fined Balocco €420,000, finding that it made a one-off donation of €50,000 to the hospital most months before Pandoro went marked on sales 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”.
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 over the amount given to the charitable cause.
After reaching an agreement with the antitrust authority, Ferragni paid the Bambini delle Fate association €1.2 million.
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. Ferragni says she will fight to prove her innocence in case over misleading charity claims.
The trial is set to begin in Milan in September.
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