The blackmailers tried to extort Michael Schumacher’s family $15.5 million by threatening to publish photos and videos of the former world champion. A German court has sentenced three men for trying to blackmail the family of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher, but the family is calling for a stricter sentence for one of the defendants.
A Wuppertal regional court convicted a 53-year-old man, Yilmaz T, of trying to extort 15 million euros ($15.5 million) from Schumacher’s relatives by threatening to release pictures and footage of the former world champion.
He was given three years’ imprisonment. His 30-year-old son, Daniel L, was given a suspended six-month sentence, while Markus F, who was a former security guard at the Schumacher home, was convicted of assisting and abetting the conspiracy and was given a two-year suspended sentence.
The Schumacher family has since appealed Markus F’s punishment, claiming it is “too soft.” Prosecutors claim that he duplicated and sold the pilfered photographs for a five-figure amount, and they are now calling for a four-year jail term, the maximum allowable.
In a statement on Monday, Corinna, wife of Michael Schumacher, spoke out in outrage over the breach of trust. “What still astonishes me most is the huge breach of trust. He should be punished for this so others won’t have the temptation to do the same,” she said of Markus F, calling him “the mastermind behind this affair.”
Schumacher, a seven-time Formula One world champion, has not been heard from publicly since he was injured in a December 2013 skiing accident in which he fell and hit his head on the snow. Since then, his family has maintained tight-lidded secrecy over his condition, granting access to only his very closest acquaintances.
This is not the first time that the Schumacher family sued to protect their privacy. In 2024, they successfully won against German celebrity magazine ‘Die Aktuelle’ when it posted an AI-simulated “interview” of Schumacher, collecting 200,000 euros ($207,840) in damages.
