Prosecutors seek jail for Italian influencer Chiara Ferragni

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MILAN — Italian prosecutors asked the court Tuesday to sentence fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni to one year and eight months in prison if she is found guilty of allegedly defrauding charity deals.

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Instagram The star and businesswoman has been on trial since September on charges of aggravated fraud related to promotions of Pandoro cake – a Christmas treat similar to panettone – and Easter eggs that purportedly raised money for charity or social causes.

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The 38-year-old woman, who lives in Milan, told the court during a closed hearing on Tuesday that she denies the charges and has always acted in “good faith”, said her lawyer Giuseppe Iannaccone.

As she left the auditorium, Ferragni told a crowd of journalists that she felt “confident… I can’t say more.”

A verdict is expected in January.

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Aggravated fraud carries a prison sentence of one to five years.

But Ferragni opted for a fast-track trial, which gives defendants a reduced sentence – meaning she cannot receive more than the maximum sentence of two years and three months, according to a source close to her team.

In Italy, people sentenced to less than two years in prison rarely serve a prison sentence.

Pioneer

Ferragni started with a fashion blog. Blonde saladin 2009 and 2017 Forbes the magazine called her their top fashion influencer.

By chronicling her glamorous lifestyle and getting paid to promote luxury brands, she turned the blog into a profitable business, then used it as a springboard to launch her own eponymous brand with stores around the world.

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Her groundbreaking story even became an example for Harvard Business School of how to monetize fame on social media.

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But the fraud allegations have damaged her reputation and support.

Outside court at a hearing earlier this month, Ferragni admitted to reporters it had been a “difficult phase in my life.”

The charges relate in part to Ferragni's 2022 endorsement of a Pandoro cake, ostensibly to raise funds for children being treated in a Turin hospital.

In December 2023, Italy's communications watchdog (AGCOM) fined Ferragni's two companies one million euros ($1.6 million CAD) for unfair commercial practices in the Pandoro Pink Christmas promotion – roughly the same amount they earned from the deal.

Customers were led to believe that purchasing a special edition cake made by Balocco would benefit the hospital, but it only received one donation of €50,000 from the company.

At the same time, Balocco was fined 420 thousand euros.

AGCOM also examined Ferragni-branded Easter eggs for 2021 and 2022 related to the social entrepreneurship initiative.

Ferragni and her husband, rapper and music producer Fedez, who were one of Italy's most famous celebrity couples, separated in 2024.

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