The China Mail - Italian influencer Ferragni awaits verdict in Christmas cake fraud trial

The 38-year-old social media star and businesswoman has been on trial since September for aggravated fraud over promotions of a pandoro cake -- a Christmas treat similar to a panettone -- and Easter eggs, both purporting to raise money for charity or social causes.

"I am calm," Ferragni told a scrum of journalists before entering the closed-door courtroom Wednesday in Milan. A verdict is expected in the afternoon.

Ferragni's legal troubles relate 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.

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 one of her lawyers, Giuseppe 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.

It is unlikely that Ferragni will go to prison if found guilty, as jail time for sentences of less than two years is rare.

- Hit hard -

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 followers also followed her personal life with Italian rap star Fedez and their two children. The couple split in 2024.

But the fraud accusations hit her reputation and endorsement career hard, with a spate of endorsements cancelled or not renewed.

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.Ng--ThChM