Source: AFP
Italian Instagram star Chiara Ferragni is being investigated for fraud over a charity cake deal in which she falsely claimed the proceeds would help children with bone cancer.
The fashion entrepreneur with 29.5 million Instagram followers is at the center of a scandal surrounding her 2022 endorsement of a pandoro cake — a Christmas treat similar to a panettone — that is supposed to raise money for children undergoing treatment in a hospital in Turin.
Italy’s competition watchdog found last month that shoppers were falsely led to believe that buying Balocco’s special edition cake — which raised more than a million euros for Ferragni’s companies — would contribute to the charity effort.
Ferragni’s lawyer, Giuseppe Iannaccone, confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that his client had been officially listed by prosecutors in Milan in a register related to the criminal case on suspicion of aggravated fraud.
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The procedural step does not imply guilt, but indicates sufficient evidence to place the person under preliminary investigation.
Prosecutors in Milan did not respond to an AFP request for confirmation.
“I am not worried because I have always acted in good faith and I am confident that this will emerge from the ongoing investigation,” Ferragni, 36, said in a statement.
Last month, the antitrust authority fined two companies, Ferragni and Balocco, about 1.4 million euros ($1.5 million) for suggesting to consumers that buying “Pandoro Pink Christmas,” which was released in November 2022, they would contribute to charity.
But in fact, Balocco, based south of Turin, had made a fixed donation of 50,000 euros to the Regina Margherita hospital months earlier.
‘Communication error’
Since launching her blog “The Blonde Salad” in 2009, Ferragni has built a business empire estimated by Forbes to be worth $8 million a year, launching her own brand and earning lucrative endorsement deals for everything from Evian water and Nespresso, to Dior perfume and Louis Vuitton heels.
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Source: AFP
But the Pandoro scandal, which has been making headlines in Italian newspapers for weeks, has been a major blow to the A-lister’s reputation and business operations.
La Repubblica reported last week that Coca-Cola pulled a TV spot with the star planned for January, while Italian eyewear company Safilo cut a licensing deal with Ferragni in December following the watchdog’s findings.
Last month, Ferragni posted a near-tearful apology on Instagram in which she said she admitted she had made a “communication error” by linking her charity work to a commercial activity, adding that she would donate one million euros directly to the hospital.
He also said he would contest the competition watchdog’s fine and if it was reduced, he would contribute that amount above and beyond his one million euro donation.
Ferragni’s legal troubles may not be over, however, with the papers reporting that prosecutors have opened a separate investigation into a similar situation in which the star promoted chocolate Easter eggs, saying their sale would support a charity for children.
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Il Fatto Quotidiano reported last month that the patisserie made a €36,000 contribution to the charity, while Ferragni was paid €500,000 and €700,000 in 2021 and 2022 for her promotion.
Source: AFP