A nightclub bouncer behind the £12million plot to blackmail F1 legend Michael Schumacher with private medical pictures in a scheme involving his former bodyguard has been jailed
A nightclub bouncer has been sentenced to three years in jail after being convicted of trying to blackmail Formula One legend Michael Schumacher for £12million.
Yilmaz Tozturkan, 53, and two other men, including the sporting icon’s former bodyguard Markus Fritsche, were arrested after hard drives containing private pictures, medical records and videos of the seven-time F1 world champion were stolen.
Schumacher’s health status has been a closely guarded secret since his devastating skiing accident in 2013, which left him spending his days in a home-based hospital facility receiving constant care supervised by his wife Corinna, who has battled to keep details about his condition confidential.
Tozturkan and his 30-year-old son Daniel Lins were accused of demanding £12million from the Schumacher family. The two denied blackmail, insisting they were offering the Schumacher family a “business deal”.
As reported by the Daily Mail, the trial heard more than 1,500 images, videos and confidential medical records were downloaded from a computer and given to Fritsche, who passed them to Tozturkan, who said he would then “upload them on to the dark web” unless money was paid.
Prosecutors in the German city of Wuppertal called for Tozturkan, who is currently behind bars for an unrelated crime, to be given three years, while the Schumacher family had been asking for five years for what they saw as the “ultimate betrayal”.
Lins was given a six-month suspended sentence. While 53-year-old Fritsche was also on trial for the shocking plot – he received two years, also suspended.
As reported by BILD, Schumacher’s lawyer, Thilo Damm, revealed he might consider an appeal on some of the sentences.
Saying: “We do not agree with all of the court’s statements, in particular that Mr. F. is only accused of aiding and abetting and not of complicity. You can rest assured that we will exhaust all legal remedies at our disposal.”
The Schumacher family also expressed fear that one hard drive containing sensitive material had not been recovered despite searches of the defendants’ properties. A nurse, who was sacked by the family, is also suspected of involvement in the case but failed to testify, claiming she was ill.
Schumacher’s manager for more than 25 years, Sabine Kehm, had told the court she fired the nurse because she was inadequate at her job. Sabine then added she suspected Fritsche and her of working together as they were “often together talking” and had “access to Schumacher’s record.”
Before the verdict was announced, Tozturkan told the court: “I’m very sorry and ashamed for what I have done. It was a very disgusting thing. I take full responsibility.”