Sawt Falasteen - Italian influencer Ferragni acquitted in Christmas cake fraud trial

The 38-year-old social media star and businesswoman had been on trial for promotions of a pandoro cake -- a Christmas treat similar to a panettone -- and Easter eggs that purported to raise money for charity or social causes.

"Chiara has been acquitted", lawyer Giuseppe Iannaccone said, as Ferragni told a scrum of journalists she was "happy" with the verdict.

"It's the end of a nightmare that lasted two years," Ferragni said, thanking "everyone who supported [her] during this period", especially her followers.

Ferragni's legal troubles related in part to her 2022 endorsement of a pandoro cake made by Italian confectionery company Balocco that purported to raise funds for children undergoing treatment at a Turin hospital.

Shoppers were led to believe that buying the special edition cake -- with a price of 9 euros instead of about 3 euros usually charged -- would directly benefit the hospital, but it only received a single 50,000 euro ($58,000) donation from the confectionery company.

Ferragni's companies, meanwhile, made about one million euros from the promotion.

Italy's competition watchdog (AGCM) hit two of Ferragni's companies with a one-million-euro fine ($1.2 million) in December 2023 for unfair commercial practices for the "Pandoro Pink Christmas" promotion.

Balocco was fined 420,000 euros -- and those fines stand.

Easter eggs sold in 2021 and 2022 were also targeted in the scandal, which made headlines in Italy.

- 'Pandoro gate' -

Milan prosecutors asked in November for a sentence of one year and eight months in prison for Ferragni and associate Fabio Damato.

Ferragni denied the charges, adding in a hearing that she had always acted "in good faith," according to lawyer Iannaccone.

In Italy, aggravated fraud is punishable by one to five years in prison, but Ferragni opted for a fast-track trial, which offers defendants a reduced sentence.

Ferragni started out with a fashion blog, The Blonde Salad, in 2009, and in 2017 Forbes magazine named her its top fashion influencer.

Chronicling her glamorous lifestyle and being paid to promote high-end brands, she built the blog into a lucrative business, using it as a springboard to launch her own eponymous label.

In Italy and beyond, her fans also followed her personal life with Italian rap star Fedez and their two children. The couple split in 2024.

The Italian government also tightened the screws on influencers, mandating that those with more than 500,000 followers register with the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM) and comply with transparency rules.

H.Nasr--SF-PST