Dolce & Gabbana designers given reduced jail sentence

MILAN, Italy, April 30 (UPI) -- Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been given a reduced and suspended jail sentence.

The two Dolce & Gabbana designers were convicted of tax evasion last June, and sentenced to 20 months in prison. They are accused of failing to pay around $55 million in taxes, but both men deny the charges.

Judges chose to uphold the conviction Wednesday despite the pair's appeal. The sentence has been reduced to 18 months.

"I'm speechless," Dolce and Gabbana lawyer Massimo Dinoia says. "The prosecutor himself asked for them to be cleared."

Dinoia says his clients are "shocked" by the ruling, and plan to make another appeal.