A German court today sentenced a 53-year-old man identified only as Yilmaz T. to three years in prison for blackmailing Michael Schumacher’s family.
Architect Yilmaz T. and his 30-year-old son Daniel L. are accused of demanding 15 million euros from Schumacher’s family to keep private photos and videos of the Formula 1 legend from being published after his serious accident.
The father and son from Wuppertal threatened to publish private photos and videos of the seven-time Formula 1 champion unless they received the money. Their collection includes photos and videos of Schumacher after a serious skiing accident that left him with a serious brain injury.
Schumacher has never been seen in public after the accident. The father, Yilmaz T., received a three-year prison sentence, while the son was given a six-month suspended sentence.
Yilmaz and Daniel received the photos from a private security guard who worked at Schumacher’s residence in Switzerland.
The security guard, identified as Markus F., received a two-year suspended sentence.
Prosecutors concluded that the family’s former bodyguard sold photographs of Schumacher for what they described as a five-figure sum.
The father and son, who blackmailed Schumacher’s family, pleaded guilty and expressed remorse in their final trial.
