THE mastermind of the Michael Schumacher blackmail plot threatened to leak “intimate” photos of the stricken star, a German court has been told.
A former security guard for the Schumacher family allegedly wanted “revenge” after he was let go by wife Corinna earlier this year.
Markus F, 53, reportedly turned bitter following the decision and hatched a plan alongside two other men to extort the wealthy family out of millions, it has been alleged.
German cops have been leading investigations with the three suspects appearing at Wuppertal District Court near Dortmund this week.
A member of the Schumacher staff took to the stand as she told the court she has seen emails between Markus and the family revealing he wanted cash in return for the intimate photos staying private.
Heike P claimed the men had images of Michael in his wheelchair and threatened to post them on the dark web.
read more in blackmail plot
She told the court: “Emails were written in which he said if he didn’t get his pay he would go after the Schumacher family.”
The staff member for the Schumachers also said she couldn’t remember the amount of money asked for in the messages.
She did believe it was less than three months worth of wages the former security guard would have been on at the time.
Markus has refused to say a word in court so far other than to confirm his name and address.
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The intimate images are said to be a part of a 1,500 cache of secret files believed to have been stolen from the Schumacher family home.
This sensitive material was uploaded onto four USB sticks and two hard drives in the days prior to Markus being let go, prosecutors say.
The content included photos, videos, medication lists and even Schumacher’s patient file, BILD reported back in July.
Markus is accused of stealing the information and then recruiting long-term pal and local bouncer Yilmaz T, 53, say German authorities.
Yilmaz then allegedly used his son Daniel L to help him make contact with the Schumacher family before trying to extort them.
Police say the total figure the trio wanted was around £12million.
Yilmaz – who had known Markus for over 20 years – was allegedly promised a small commission in return for his help.
German cops plan quickly managed to thwart the plot soon after contact was first made with the Schumacher family.
When the men were first hauled into court Markus’ lawyer claimed he had been asked by Corinna to digitalise copies of photos taken of her husband.
This included the intimate images.
However, a shocking revelation reportedly now claims that one of the hard drives which may still hold data on the F1 legend has gone missing.
Authorities said they were able to track down the alleged extortionists through “technical measures”.
On July 4, officers arrested Markus in his apartment in Wülfrath.
They also detained Yilmaz and his son Daniel L soon after for their roles in the alleged blackmail plot.
All three men were charged and are now in court for the hearing.
Prosecutors are asking for the men to spend at least four years behind bars if found guilty.
Speaking for the first time at Wuppertal District Court, Yilmaz T said he had done nothing wrong and that it was all to help out a poor nurse.
I didn’t think there was anything bad about it. He said he had photos of a person and wanted to sell them
Daniel L
His son Daniel has accepted his role in the affair but is claiming he had no knowledge of the content being sent as part of the plot.
The 30-year-old is being charged for having supplied his father with an untraceable Gmail address.
He is also accused of forwarding the illicit pictures on his dad’s behalf.
Daniel said: “I didn’t see the content. My dad just said that it was a legal, normal affair, whereby there was a layer involved, and that was it for me, so I didn’t ask any more questions.
“I didn’t think there was anything bad about it. He said he had photos of a person and wanted to sell them.
“I didn’t ask my father what it was all about. Its my father. So I just thought, yeah, okay, and that was it.”
Schumacher’s wife Corinna, 55, has already filed a motion to protect her husband during the trial.
She is asking to exclude the public from the trial if the seven-time world champion’s current state of health is ever discussed.
Corinna has spent over a decade crafting a close knit inner circle of people who are allowed to know about Michael’s health ever since his horrific ski accident.
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The F1 star hasn’t been seen or heard from since after with very little being released about his current status.
What happened to Michael Schumacher?
MICHAEL Schumacher’s life was hanging by a thread over 10-years-ago as medics tried desperately to keep him alive after a tragic skiing crash.
The F1 legend was left with horrific brain injuries and placed into a coma for 250 days.
He was given the best possible treatment as he underwent hours of tricky operations on his brain.
Back in 2013, the retired seven-time world champion, and his then 14-year-old son set off on the Combe de Saulire ski run in the exclusive French resort of Meribel.
Footage from his helmet camera revealed he was not travelling at excessive speed when his skis struck a rock hidden beneath the snow.
He catapulted forward 11.5ft and crashed into a boulder head first that split his helmet into two and left him needing to be airlifted to hospital for two life-saving operations.
At one point his family were told to brace themselves for the worst case scenario as the situation was much worse than originally believed.
At the time, medics said Schumacher was likely to stay in an induced coma for at least 48 hours as his body and mind recovered.
But the coma ended up lasting 250 days – more than eight months.
After he woke up in June 2014, he was discharged from hospital and sent to his home in Lake Geneva to get further treatment.
Since then his wife Corinna and his inner circle of friends have expertly avoided almost anything leaking out about his health status.
Only small amounts of information have been released including reports that Schumacher was in a wheelchair but can react to things around him.
In 2019, it was said that Schumacher was set to undergo breakthrough stem cell therapy in a bid to regenerate and rebuild his nervous system.
Renowned France cardiologist Dr Philippe Menasche, who had operated on him previously, was set to carry out the treatment that would see cells from his heart go to his brain.
Following the treatment at the Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris, he was said to be “conscious”, although few other details were given about his state.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
