The fashion influencer came under scrutiny in 2022 for a charitable collaboration selling branded Pandoro Christmas cakes
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/chiara-ferragni-court-1-011526-1f8411d5fcf1468f801081585c751cce.jpg "Chiara Ferragni, an entrepreneur and influencer, and Marina Di Guardo, a writer, leave court after being acquitted of aggravated fraud in the Pandorogate trial in Milan, Italy, on January 14, 2026")
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Chiara FerragniNEED TO KNOW
- Influencer Chiara Ferragni spoke out after an Italian judge aquitted her of aggravated fraud charges in court on Jan. 14
- “Today I am not celebrating a victory,” she wrote in an emotional statement uploaded to Instagram on Jan. 15. “Today I am closing a chapter"
- The fashion influencer came under scrutiny in 2022 for a charitable collaboration selling branded Pandoro Christmas cakes
Influencer Chiara Ferragni is speaking out after an Italian judge cleared her of aggravated fraud charges in court on Jan. 14.
“Today I am not celebrating a victory,” she wrote in a statement uploaded to Instagram on Jan. 15. “Today I am closing a chapter.”
Ferragni, 38, first garnered attention online through her fashion blog in 2009, later becoming the first fashion blogger to be on the cover of Vogue in 2015. But at the height of her fame, in 2022, the Italian internet personality faced scrutiny for selling Pandoro Christmas cakes as part of a collaboration with Balocco, an Italian food company, the boxes of which promised that both she and the company “support the Regina Margherita hospital in Turin.”
The next year, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) sanctioned Ferragni for allegedly misleading the public, alleging that the messaging on the box — which she also shared to her social media accounts — made it appear that each purchase of a Pandoro Christmas cake would benefit the hospital, when Balocco actually only made a single €50,000 donation.
Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP via Getty
Chiara FerragniDuring a pre-trial hearing in November, the Milan Prosecutor’s Office requested a sentence of one year and eight months for the 38-year-old content creator, according to French24, L'Unione Sarda, and La Presse.
Ferragni first spoke out against the fraud claims in a video she shared to Instagram in 2024, calling the allegations “disproportionate and unfair” and a “communication error.” At the time, she vowed to donate the €1 million fee she received from Balocco for the collaboration to the hospital.
In her latest statement after her legal victory this week, Ferragni admitted that she had made “a mistake” — but maintained that she had “corrected it” and “apologized.”
“I was at the peak of my image and my career,” she wrote. “There was neither an economic nor a common-sense reason for me to deceive anyone.’
Ferragni also shared that the last two years of her life, as the trial was ongoing, were “anything but simple” — “not because I doubted myself, but because living under constant judgement, without being able to respond, without being able to explain, puts you to a deep test.”
Chiara Ferragni/Instagram
Chiara FerragniContinued the internet star: “I’m not speaking out of anger. I’m speaking with full awareness. With the clarity of someone who knows she faced everything without running away, without hiding, respecting both justice and silence even when it was the hardest thing to do.”
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As of the end of 2024, Ferragni had reportedly paid a total of €3.4 million to settle and resolve investigations surrounding several of her charitable donations, including the aforementioned €1 million she paid to the hospital, a €1 million fine from the AGCM and a separate €1.2 million to a children’s charity to settle an antitrust case over Ferragni-branded Easter eggs.
Chiara Ferragni/Instagram
Chiara FerragniThe creator’s company also put out a statement in May 2024 that they would “refrain from carrying out operations in which commercial activities are connected to charitable activities.”
Throughout 2024, Ferragni kept a relatively low profile on social media, though she returned the following year, promoting collaborations with luxury brands and serving as the face of several regional beauty magazines. Earlier this month, Ferragni shared a series of posts from Colombia, where she celebrated the new year.
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