How a Christmas cake led to the dethroning of one of the world's top influencers.

It all started with a Christmas cake. And now Italian influencer Chiara Ferragni is in hot water, with Milan prosecutors now requesting a 20-month prison sentence on aggravated fraud charges.

It involves the sale of a designer pandoro (an Italian holiday cake similar to panettone) branded with Ferragni's name, with funds promised to help an Italian hospital for sick children.

However, the funds allegedly never made it to the hospital as promised.

Ferragni first became a public figure following the success of her fashion blog, The Blonde Salad, in 2009. Soon after, she began selling clothes and accessories under her own brand, as well as doing influencer work with notable brands.

She amassed more than 28 million followers and built an estimated €40m (around $66.3m AUD) fortune alongside her now ex-husband, Italian rapper Fedez. The pair also share two children.

With a perfectly curated public profile, Ferragni was considered not only Italy's top influencer but also one of the world's. But with a high rise came the potential for an even greater fall.

Watch: How one influencer faked going to Coachella. Post continues below.

The scandal began in late 2022 with the 'Pandoro Pink Christmas' — a cake designed by Ferragni and sold by Italian food company Balocco. The brand and Ferragni came together to promote the holiday-special pandoro, and it was a hit with customers — each one cost around $15 AUD (€9).

Buyers of the Ferragni-branded pandoro believed their money would contribute to the purchase of medical equipment for a children's hospital in Turin, Italy.

Balocco had donated €50,000 ($83k AUD) to the hospital months earlier. But the much larger, undisclosed proceeds from cake sales were never given to the hospital as promised.

Ferragni's social posts alone are believed to have generated around $1.9 million AUD in cake sales.

But the watchdog was... well... watching. The massive sales figures versus the tiny donation just didn't add up.

And this might not be the first time. According to Italian media, officials are reportedly investigating other charity initiatives endorsed by Ferragni, including Easter eggs produced by food company Dolci Preziosi that allegedly earned her far more than was donated to charity.

Chiara Ferragni with her pink pandoro cake. Image: Instagram.

Balocco paid Ferragni's company around $1.6 million AUD for her involvement in the promotion.

In a speech in December 2023, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticised Ferragni (though didn't name her directly), citing influencers who promote "expensive panettone making believe that they are for charity, when the price only pays for millionaire's fees".

Ferragni went on to apologise for what had occurred.

"[I] apologise and give concrete action to my gesture: I will return one million euros ($1.6 million AUD) to Queen Margaret to support children's care. But it's not enough: I do it publicly because I realised I made a communication error," she said in an Instagram video.

She said she will challenge the ruling from officials, as she believes it's "disproportionate and unfair".

"My mistake was in good faith... Unfortunately, you can make mistakes. I am sorry I did it and I realise I could have guarded better," she said.

"In the coming days, I will speak with Queen Margaret to understand how the hospital will use the money donated by me and I will periodically [provide] updates. My mistake remains but I want to make sure that something constructive and positive can be generated from this mistake."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chiara Ferragni ✨ (@chiaraferragni)

But that wasn't the end of it.

On Tuesday, November 25, 2025, following a pretrial hearing, the Milan Prosecutor's Office formally requested a sentence of one year and eight months of jail time for Ferragni on aggravated fraud charges.

The verdict is expected in January 2026.

The pandoro controversy has led to significant financial consequences for the influencer. As of the end of 2024, Ferragni had reportedly paid a total of €3.4 million (approximately $5.6 million AUD) to settle and resolve investigations related to her various charitable promotions.

This included the €1 million she paid to the hospital, a €1 million fine from the AGCM and another €1.2 million to a children's charity to settle an antitrust case over Ferragni-branded Easter eggs.

In May 2024, Ferragni's company released a statement claiming to "refrain from carrying out operations in which commercial activities are connected to charitable activities."

Italy's communications authority has also introduced new rules for all celebrities and content creators with over 1 million followers.

Any advertising content must now be clearly labelled as such, otherwise, creators risk fines of up to $996,000. Similar laws were introduced in France in 2023.

Italy's communications authority confirmed the new guidelines were directly influenced by the Ferragni scandal.

To think it all began with a Christmas cake...

This article was originally published in January 2024, and has been updated since.

Feature Image: Instagram @chiaraferragni.

Do you have any Streaming Video Services in your household? e.g. Netflix, Stan, etc. We want to hear from you! Take our survey now to go in the running to win a $100 gift voucher.

TAKE SURVEY ➤