Michael Schumacher’s family has been targeted in an alleged blackmailing plot involving his former bodyguard.
One of the men due to appear in court in Germany this month charged with aiding and abetting the alleged blackmail is Schumacher’s former bodyguard Markus Fritsche.
The attempted blackmail of the family was described as ‘particularly serious’ by prosecutors and contained more than 1,000 private images, video and Mr Schumacher’s medical notes.
The F1 legend has been kept out of the public eye since his catastrophic skiing accident in 2013 as his wife Corinne has been fiercely protective of the 55-year-old’s privacy and any details of his condition.
Only a handful of trusted people have had access to Schumi who stays at his luxury compound after a life-changing brain injury.
Mr Fritsche made his way to the inner circle about a year before the accident working as a bodyguard.
He was embedded in the family for eight years, with Fritsche gaining access to intimate details of the F1 driver’s health, MailOnline reports.
Mr Fritsche is said to have become bitter after he was let go following changes to Mr Schumacher’s care, according to the outlet.
The ex-bodyguard, who was also responsible for digitising private pictures while working for Mr Schumacher, allegedly obtained the footage from the family before selling it to a 53-year-old man from Wuppertal who was supported by his 30-year-old son, Eurosport Germany reported.
Now the man from Wuppertal has been named as Mr Fritsche’s long-term friend Yilmaz Tozturkan who is said to have recruited his IT expert Daniel Lins to carry out the scheme with him, MailOnline reports.
Further details of the alleged scheme will be heard at a trial due to start in Wuppertal this month.
Some information about the reported plot emerged after the Wuppertal public prosecutor Wolf-Tilman Baumert announced in September that the investigation had been concluded.
Mr Tozturkan is said to have contacted the family by phone on June 3 to demand £12 million (€15 million).
If the family failed to pay, he ‘threatened that the data would be published on the darknet,’ the public prosecutor said.
The huge dossier the men had access to reportedly involved around 1,500 images, 200 videos and Mr Schumacher’s medical notes on USB sticks and hard drives allegedly taken by Fritsche from the family mansion when it dawned on him he would be let go.
Mr Tozturkan’s son then allegedly sent four images to the Schumacher residence on June 11, saying they had one month to come up with the money over two instalments in exchange for the material.
The rogue exchange would have then taken place at the Schumacher family lawyer’s office, it is claimed.
But just a week later, the Mr Tozturkan and his son were arrested by the police in Germany after reportedly being placed under surveillance, according to MailOnline.
The Schumacher family is said to have filed a criminal complaint in Switzerland after receiving proof of the images.
It is said investigators were led onto Mr Fritsche after his accomplice Mr Tozturkan provided them with the source of the images.
At the time of his arrest, Mr Fritsche is said to have worked as a security guard at the Mercedes Benz factory in Dusseldorf.
Mr Fritsche and Mr Lins will appear in court charged with aiding and abetting the crime, while the alleged blackmailer Mr Tozturkan will be accused of attempted extortion, according to Eurosport.
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