In the end Chiara Ferragni was acquitted at the end of the shortened trial on the Pandoro Gate and the Easter eggs. The decision came a few minutes ago from the judge of the third criminal section of Milan. The digital influencer and entrepreneur was charged with aggravated fraud for the alleged misleading messages published on social media. according to the accusation, Chiara Ferragni had advertised the sale of Balocco Pink Christmas pandoros and Dolci Preziosi Easter eggs (from which she would have obtained a total profit of 2.2 million euros), implying that part of the proceeds would finance charity projects.
Nothing aggravating for Chiara Ferragni, the co-defendants were also acquitted
Technically, the Milan judge did not recognize the aggravating circumstance, contested by the prosecutors, of the impaired defense of consumers or online users, which made the crime of fraud prosecutable even in the absence of a complaint.
Thus, since Codacons had withdrawn the complaint about a year ago (after a compensation agreement with the influencer), it ordered the acquittal due to the extinction of the crime reclassified as simple fraud. Chiara Ferragni’s co-defendants, Fabio Damato and the president of Cerealitalia, Francesco Cannillo, were also acquitted.
For the crime of fraud, the Cartabia reform introduced the obligation for the offended party to file a complaint. Hence, therefore, the defense’s request for full acquittal, accepted by the Court of Milan.
“We are all moved, I thank everyone, my lawyers and my followers” commented Chiara Ferragni after the acquittal sentence.
The case in brief
Selvaggia Lucarelli raised the Pandoro Gate case in 2022. In an investigation, published in the newspaper “Domani”, he highlighted the lack of transparency in the promotional campaign and the actual destination of the funds raised. According to what Lucarelli highlighted, customers who bought the pandoro would have been led to believe they were supporting the Regina Margherita hospital in Turin and research into osteosarcoma and Ewing’s sarcoma, in particular the purchase of a new machine, but in reality the amount had already been established previously.
Similarly, the proceeds from the sales of the Dolci Preziosi Easter eggs should have gone to the charity “I Bambini delle Fate”. The Antitrust investigation then concluded with an agreement which provided for a payment of 1.3 million euros (1.2 million euros by the companies linked to Chiara Ferragni and 100 thousand euros by Cerealitalia) to the association in question.
For Chiara Ferragni the Milan Prosecutor’s Office had requested one year and 8 months of imprisonment. But today the sentence arrived which made the Milanese entrepreneur and influencer breathe a big sigh of relief.
