Chief suspect threatened to release private photos and demanded €15m from F1 star’s family, prosecutors say
They said the chief suspect, a 53-year-old man from the western city of Wuppertal, had threatened to release private photos and videos and demanded €15m from Schumacher’s family.the 2013 skiing accident in the French Alps that left him with a serious brain injury.The images allegedly came from another 53-year-old, from the western town of Wülfrath, who worked as a security guard for the Schumacher family until 2021.
He is suspected of having sold the material for a “five-figure” sum and could face a “considerable” jail term on charges of being an accomplice to attempted blackmail and breach of privacy. Prosecutors say the chief suspect rang an employee of the Schumacher family several times in June this year to demand the money.The chief suspect faces charges of attempted blackmail with a maximum jail sentence of up to 15 years, although prosecutors say the punishment could be reduced as the threat was not followed through.
The Wuppertal man’s 30-year-old son has been charged with being an accomplice to blackmail, as his father had asked him to create an untraceable email address.The family alerted authorities in Switzerland, where Schumacher has been cared for at his family home since the accident.Explore more on these topics
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