Italian influencer Chiara Ferragni was acquitted Wednesday on fraud charges linked to a charitable business collaboration, a scandal that decimated her businesses, destroyed her public image and contributed to the end of her marriage.
Key Takeaways
- Ferragni, 38, was found not guilty on all charges in her criminal trial for aggravated fraud on Wednesday morning in a Milan court.
- The influencer, who boasts 28 million followers on Instagram and is the most popular Italian creator globally, was facing a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.
- Allegations against Ferragni first emerged in December 2022 through an investigation by Italian newspaper Il Mattino that found that Regina Margherita children’s hospital, the intended beneficiary of her collaboration with confectionery company Balocco, hadn’t received any portion of sales after an initial $54,000 donation from Balocco.
- In December 2023, the Italian antitrust authority AGCM fined Ferragni’s influencer business TBS Crew and her fashion business Fenice a total of $1.2 million for “unfair business practices” tied to false advertising—the first of several civil penalties.
- Soon after, Ferragni’s Milan flagship store shut down and revenue for both her businesses plummeted by over 90%.
Crucial Quote
“It’s the end of a nightmare,” Ferragni told reporters waiting outside the courtroom just after the verdict was read.
Big Number
$2.7 million – The amount Ferragni had already paid in civil fines by the time her criminal trial started late last year.
Who Is Chiara Ferragni?
The daughter of a dentist and a fashion executive, Chiara Ferragni was studying to become a lawyer at Bocconi University in Milan when she launched her fashion blog The Blonde Salad in 2009 at 22 years old. Her career took off with remarkable speed from there. In 2013, she launched her first business, a shoe collection that, over the years, expanded into a full lifestyle brand through a series of licensing deals. By 2022, Chiara Ferragni Brand, legally Fenice, hit $15.3 million in revenue, almost doubling the $8 million from the prior year. Most of Ferragni’s wealth came from collaborating with luxury brands, including Dior, Saint Laurent and Lancôme. According to a Forbes analysis of all of TBS Crew’s income statements from 2017 onwards (Ferragni’s influencer business), Ferragni, who owns 100% of the company, generated at least $70 million as an influencer throughout her career. Ferragni’s fame reached new heights in 2018 when she married Italian rapper Fedez in a three-day extravaganza in Sicily that was featured in Vogue. In 2021, her reality show The Ferragnez, which documents her life with Fedez, their young children, and her sisters, premiered on Prime Video, cementing the Kardashian comparison. In early 2024, the couple separated after a cheating scandal revealed that Fedez had a long-term relationship with another woman that ran parallel to their marriage.
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This story was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
