Three individuals have been convicted in a case involving the attempted extortion of Michael Schumacher’s family, a notable figure in the world of Formula 1.
These individuals attempted to extract 15 million euros (approximately $15.6 million) from the Schumacher family, threatening to publish numerous private images and videos as well as digitized medical documents related to Schumacher’s health.
A district court located in Wuppertal, Germany, sentenced the primary offender to a three-year imprisonment. Meanwhile, his son was given a suspended six-month sentence along with a fine of 1,200 euros, according to reports. The main perpetrator had prior convictions that contributed to the length of his sentence.
Another suspect, who had previously worked as a security guard for the Schumacher family, was handed a two-year suspended sentence along with a fine of 2,400 euros for his role in facilitating the crime. The judge, Birgit Neubert, highlighted that this former security guard had greatly breached the family’s trust, which had a significant impact on the case.
The Schumacher family faced threats regarding the release of the private materials on the dark web. The public prosecutor’s office revealed that approximately 900 photographs and nearly 600 videos of the family, along with Schumacher’s digitized medical files, were seized from the culprits. However, a hard drive holding additional content is still unaccounted for.
Thilo Damm, the family’s lawyer, announced that they plan to appeal against the former security guard, as they had sought a four-year prison sentence for him. While the main two defendants confessed to their wrongdoing, the security guard’s attorney refuted the accusations, calling for his client’s exoneration, asserting that his client had not been involved in the theft of sensitive information.
Since Schumacher’s severe skiing accident in December 2013, the family has worked to keep him out of the public eye. The accident occurred in Meribel, situated in the French Alps, when Schumacher fell and tragically struck his head on a rock, resulting in life-threatening brain injuries. Following his transfer from the hospital in September 2014, the seven-time Formula 1 champion has been privately cared for at the family’s residence in Switzerland.
Schumacher stepped away from F1 in 2012 after achieving an impressive 91 race victories, including five consecutive championships with Ferrari between 2000 and 2004. His additional two titles were secured with Benetton in the years 1994 and 1995.
