**Verdict: FAKE**

Verdict: FAKE

A viral post claiming that “Luigi Mangione, the founder of the Italian luxury leather brand Il Bisonte, was arrested in Miami for smuggling exotic animal skins worth $4 million” is completely fabricated.

The Facts:

• Luigi Mangione (the real person) passed away in 2022 at the age of 74. He was a respected Florentine artisan who pioneered high-end vegetable-tanned leather goods, not a smuggler.
• The viral photo circulating alongside this claim is an AI-generated image (notice the unnatural glow on the watch and the melting fingers on the suitcase handle) or a still from an unrelated Spanish customs bust in 2019.
• There is no police report, no Miami-Dade arrest record, and no news from legitimate outlets (ANSA, La Repubblica, or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement) corroborating this.
• This rumor appears to be a targeted “zombie hoax”—resurrecting a deceased figure to generate outrage clicks and push a false narrative about Italian luxury brands using illegal materials (Il Bisonte is strictly cowhide).

Bottom line: Luigi Mangione is not in Miami, not in handcuffs, and not a smuggler. Do not share the post. ✅