The Alberto Genovese Case — Milan Startup Mogul Convicted of Rape

The Case

The Alberto Genovese case is an Italian sexual violence case involving Alberto Maria Genovese, a Naples-born tech entrepreneur widely known as the founder of Facile.it and celebrated in Italian business circles as a "re delle startup" — a king of startups. Between July and October 2020, Genovese allegedly drugged and raped at least two women: one at a private party in his luxury Milan penthouse known as "Terrazza Sentimento," and one during a separate episode on the island of Ibiza, Spain. The case produced multiple convictions for sexual violence and drug-related offenses and became one of the most discussed criminal trials in Italy in the early 2020s.

The Crime

Genovese's Milan apartment, the so-called "Terrazza Sentimento," was the setting for exclusive private parties attended by figures from the worlds of finance, fashion, and the Italian tech scene. According to prosecutors, the gatherings were not merely social events: Genovese allegedly used them as a hunting ground, supplying guests with illegal substances and exploiting the resulting incapacitation to sexually assault women.

The primary Milan offense occurred on the night of 10 October 2020. An 18-year-old woman attended one of Genovese's parties and was allegedly given a mixture of drugs — described in reporting as including cocaine and ketamine — that rendered her unconscious or severely incapacitated. Genovese is alleged to have raped her while she was in this condition. The assault reportedly lasted for hours.

A separate but structurally similar offense had occurred months earlier, on 10 July 2020, in Ibiza, Spain. There, a 23-year-old model was allegedly drugged and raped by Genovese, with reporting indicating that a second individual — identified only as Genovese's girlfriend at the time — was also alleged to have participated in or been present during the assault. The Ibiza episode formed the core of a second criminal proceeding.

The charges that emerged over the course of the investigation were extensive: sexual violence (violenza sessuale), drug supply (spaccio di stupefacenti), kidnapping (sequestro di persona), bodily harm (lesioni), and, in early media coverage, torture (tortura). The breadth of the charge set reflected both the severity of the alleged conduct and the investigative findings regarding the systematic use of drugs as a method of incapacitation.

The Victims

Italian media, in line with domestic reporting conventions for sexual violence cases, have consistently withheld the full names of the victims. The primary Milan victim is described as an 18-year-old woman at the time of the assault. The Ibiza victim is described as a 23-year-old model. Both women are reported to have cooperated with investigators and provided testimony during the proceedings.

The recognition of the victims' accounts by the Italian courts was highlighted by commentators and advocates as a significant outcome, given the well-documented difficulties that sexual violence survivors face in Italian legal proceedings. The verdicts were described in some coverage as a formal acknowledgment that the women had told the truth.

Investigation

Genovese was placed under arrest — "fermato" — on or around 7 November 2020, just weeks after the Milan assault. The detention was validated by a judge who, in a notable ruling, cited the risk that Genovese would reoffend if released — an explicit judicial acknowledgment of the perceived danger he posed.

The investigation, led by Milan prosecutors, drew on the victim's testimony, forensic evidence gathered at the Terrazza Sentimento apartment, and evidence relating to the procurement and distribution of controlled substances. The broader inquiry into the Ibiza episode ran on a parallel track and eventually resulted in a separate proceeding.

As reporting expanded, additional alleged victims and witnesses emerged, and the investigation encompassed Genovese's broader pattern of behavior at these exclusive gatherings. The case attracted intense scrutiny of the social ecosystem around Genovese — the overlap between Milan's startup elite, its fashion and nightlife worlds, and the private party circuit where the alleged offenses took place.

Trial and Verdict

The first major proceeding concluded with Genovese receiving a final sentence of 6 years, 11 months, and 10 days, covering the drug-related offenses and sexual violence charges connected to the Milan episode. A second proceeding, addressing the Ibiza assault and related charges, produced a first-instance ruling on 26 February 2024, as reported by Sky TG24.

The sentences, while contested by some victim advocates as insufficiently severe given the nature of the offenses, represented a complete judicial resolution of the core facts alleged against Genovese. His defense mounted arguments challenging the evidence and the victims' accounts, but the courts found the prosecution's case persuasive across both proceedings.

The case is considered solved in the sense that it has produced definitive judicial findings: Genovese was convicted, sentenced, and the factual allegations were adjudicated by Italian courts.

Today

As of the time of writing, the Alberto Genovese case has concluded its primary judicial phases. The first proceeding has resulted in a final sentence; the second proceeding produced a first-instance verdict in early 2024. Whether any appellate proceedings remain ongoing in the second case has not been definitively confirmed in available sources.

The case left a significant cultural footprint in Italy. It prompted public debate about the intersection of wealth, power, and impunity; about drug culture in elite social circles; and about the treatment of sexual violence survivors within the Italian justice system. Genovese's profile as a celebrated startup founder — a man who had built a household-name financial comparison platform and accumulated substantial personal wealth — made the case a flashpoint for broader conversations about accountability among Italy's economic elite.

The "Terrazza Sentimento" penthouse, which had symbolized a certain image of Milan's gilded tech scene, became instead a byword for predatory behavior concealed behind a veneer of glamour and exclusivity.

The Genovese case is often discussed alongside other Italian cases involving alleged abuse of power and sexual violence in high-profile social settings. Readers interested in related patterns of predatory conduct by wealthy or prominent individuals may also wish to examine Harvey Weinstein Case, Ghislaine Maxwell Case, and broader Italian Organized Crime and Drug Networks as context for how drugs and coercion intersect with elite social environments.