Chiara Girello Azzena had also organized initiatives in Olbia to raise funds with her Team for Children.
The non-profit organization had promoted the event Correre sotto le stelle in Gallura, an initiative dedicated to children hospitalized in the Pediatric Oncohematology departments. Chiara Girello Azzena, a Gallura native, living in Golfo Aranci, recently closed her trial in Padua for the crime of embezzlement, with Team for Children being the injured party.
Azzena, 65, former president of the non-profit organization, returned approximately 100 thousand euros to the association; according to the Padua Prosecutor's Office, she had appropriated 187 thousand euros, funds intended for children. The non-profit organization withdrew the complaint and the crime was declared extinguished.
The investigations, conducted by the Guardia di Finanza, began with a complaint denouncing the use, for private purposes, of funds intended for young cancer patients at the hospital in the Veneto city.
The former president of Team for Children (who has always denied the accusations) was accused of having used the money for travel (including in Sardinia) and the purchase of furniture, appliances and clothes. Azzena instead pleaded guilty (one year in prison) to the crime of fraud against INPS, for having wrongfully requested and obtained redundancy payments for two employees of the non-profit organization.
