Influencer Chiara Ferragni has been acquitted of fraud charges.
Italian influencer Chiara Ferragni has been acquitted of criminal fraud charges that would have carried a prison sentence of up to 20 months, The Guardian reports. The ruling was handed down by a Milan court after nearly two years of investigations related to her Christmas and Easter charity events in 2021–2023.
"The nightmare is over. I'm so happy to have my life back. It was a difficult two years, but I believed in justice—and justice was served," the publication quotes 38-year-old Ferragni as saying after the hearing.
As a reminder, in 2023, Chiara was fined nearly €1.1 million for a charity campaign selling "Pandora" Christmas cakes. The baked goods were priced 2.5 times higher than regular cakes, and Ferragni claimed all proceeds would go to treating children with cancer. However, it was later revealed that her company, which earned over €1 million from the project, failed to transfer the money to charity (she then attributed this to a "communication error").
During the investigation, another case emerged involving Easter eggs, which buyers also believed to be part of a charity event. In 2024, Ferragni voluntarily donated approximately €1.2 million (109.7 million rubles) to the fund to partially settle the claims.
The scandal seriously impacted Chiara's career. Despite the fine and voluntary contributions to charity, criticism against her continued to mount. Even Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke out against the influencer. Furthermore, she lost over 300,000 followers, and many companies, including Coca-Cola, terminated their advertising contracts with her.
Amid the scandal, Ferragni spoke openly about the infidelity of her husband, rapper Fedez (real name Federico Lucia). She claimed he had been unfaithful for years, and on their wedding day, he even called another woman, promising to marry her. Shortly after the story became public, the couple, who had been married since 2018 and had two children, separated. In February 2025, rumors surfaced that the influencer was dating Pirelli heir Giovanni Tronchetti, which were soon confirmed.
Chiara Ferragni rose to fame with her blog about fashion, family, and travel. In 2017, she ranked first on the Forbes Top Fashion Influencers list. Her Instagram* currently boasts nearly 28 million followers.
Photo: chiaraferragni, tiziano.raw/Instagram**