Trio convicted for blackmail plot of Schumacher’s family
German court punishes group who threatened to post images, videos and medical reports of the seven-time F1 world champion on the dark web, unless his family paid €15million ransom
Three men have been convicted of trying to blackmail Michael Schumacher’s family for millions of euros.
A German court has jailed one individual for three years after he threatened to upload 900 photos, 600 videos, plus medical reports of the seven-time Formula 1 world champion to the dark web unless Schumacher’s family paid a ransom of €15million.
A second man has been charged with aiding and abetting by the district court in Wuppertal, western Germany, and issued a six-month suspended sentence.
A former security guard at Schumacher's home was also served with a two-year suspended sentence despite pleading to having had no involvement in the extortion.
German news agency DPA reported that judge Birgit Neubert said the former security worker was responsible for the most significant part of the crime due to a breach of the trust placed in him by the Schumacher family to protect them.
The family’s lawyer, Thilo Damm, said they will appeal in the case against the former security guard as they wanted a four-year prison term.
Schumacher, 56, has not been seen in public since he suffered a serious brain injury while skiing in December 2013.
Michael Schumacher with his wife Corinna Schumacher in 2010
Photo by: Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Images
He retired from F1 in 2012 and was transferred from hospital in September 2014 and has since been cared for privately at the family’s home in Switzerland.
His family has demanded privacy and the blackmail attempt threatened to expose details about his condition.
It is understood that while the majority of the evidence was confiscated by the German authorities, a second hard drive remains missing.
Since his skiing accident, Schumacher’s condition has been a constant source of interest in the media, which has been railed against by the family.
In 2023, the Schumacher family successfully won legal action over a publisher of a magazine that printed an AI-generated interview with the seven-time world champion.
German magazine Die Aktuelle ran his image on the cover in April 2023 with the headline: “Michael Schumacher, the first interview!”
The AI-made article was found to be misleading and the publisher was ordered to pay compensation of €200,000.
The German publisher, Funke magazines, also apologised to Schumacher’s family and sacked the magazine’s chief editor.
Share Or Save This Story
How Jonathan Wheatley wants Sauber to use F1 podium momentum in Audi transformation
How Christian Horner’s Red Bull exit mirrored his F1 arrival and why he will be missed
Keanu Reeves to star in new Cadillac F1 team documentary
On this day: Jacques Villeneuve’s maiden F1 win in Michael Schumacher duel
Jean Todt on how he convinced Michael Schumacher to sign with Ferrari in a single day
20 years ago, Michael Schumacher held off Fernando Alonso in Imola F1 duel
Ralf Schumacher backs Toto Wolff's handling of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell clash
Lewis Hamilton reveals touching reason behind his mother's Canadian GP appearance
Max Verstappen reignites quit threats amid doubts over 2027 F1 rule changes
Jamie Chadwick pinpoints Kimi Antonelli frustration after George Russell Canadian GP pole
Gloves off at Mercedes? Russell-Antonelli duel shows glimpse of F1 2026 battle
The details in Mercedes' Montreal F1 updates
How Bruce McLaren’s early years set the team on the path to success
Behind the scenes at Pirelli: The hidden factors that go into developing F1 tyres
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments