Italian fashion influencer Ferragni will donate $1.3 million in a deal to close an antitrust probe

MILAN -- Italian fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni will donate at least 1.2 million euros ($1.3 million) under a deal with Italian antitrust authorities investigating misleading communications that led consumers to believe proceeds from the purchase of Easter eggs with her logo would go to a children's charity, officials said Friday.

Three Ferragni companies will pay 5% of profits over three years, with a minimum set at 1.2 million euros, to a charity for disabled children, called Children of the Fairies, according to the AGCM antitrust agency.

The maker of the eggs, Cerealitalia Industrie Dolciare, a subsidiary of the toy company Giochi Preziosi, will pay at least 100,000 euros ($108,000) to the charity.

The payment would “compensate consumers who, by purchasing the product, wanted to make an economic contribution to ‘The Children of the Fairies’," the AGCM statement said.

The companies also agreed to separate their commercial activities, including advertising, from charitable contributions.

Ferragni posted a message on social media confirming the deal. In January, she was fined 1 million euros for a similar scheme involving charitable communications tied to sales of a traditional Christmas cake.

The deals were a blow to Ferragni’s image, which she had built up over years in the fashion industry, first as a blogger then as a front-row influencer and businesswoman who launched her how clothing, accessory and makeup brands. She also sat on the board of the Tod’s luxury group, with her three-year term expiring in March.