Mastermind behind Michael Schumacher blackmail plot arrested
German police have arrested three men in relation to a bombshell blackmail plot targeted at Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher.
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The mastermind accused of a blackmail plot against F1 ace Michael Schumacher has been revealed as a family bodyguard, say German police.
Two other men have also been arrested after they are alleged to have threatened to release secret pictures of the injured star if they weren’t given over $23 million from his stricken family, The Sun reports.
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The first two men arrested were a father and son duo accused of trying to plot against the Schumacher family.
Yilmaz T., 53, and his son, 30, from Wuppertal, western Germany, face up five years in prison if found guilty of the allegations.
A third man involved in the case has now also been arrested.
The 52-year-old has been described as the “mastermind” behind the plot, say German police.
He worked as a security guard for the Schumacher family, claim the public prosecutor’s office in Wuppertal.
His role is alleged to have been turning private pictures of the family into digital files so they could be transferred to Yilmaz T and his son.
The man was detained on Thursday in Wülfrath as a large number of evidence was also seized from his property.
Family employees close to wife Corinna Schumacher were said to have been approached by the trio who claimed to have found a file of secrets on the F1 driver.
Michael, who hasn’t been seen or heard from for over a decade after a horror ski crash, has been looked after by his close-knit family since the accident.
According to the Wuppertal office, the men said the family wouldn’t want the files to become public due to what they contained.
To keep the information private the trio reportedly demanded they were sent millions to keep the information off the dark web.
The suspects were even alleged to have sent some of the files to the family as proof, said prosecutors in June.
Cops were able to track down the extortionists through “technical measures”, it was announced last month.
The Schumacher family have been tormented over Michael’s health in the past.
In 2016, a 25-year-old man known as Hüseyin B sent a threatening email to Corinna targeting the couple’s children.
The mum-of-two quickly passed on the email to the police who swiftly tracked down the painter.
After being arrested, the thug was sent to court where a judge sentenced him for a year and nine months behind bars.
The perpetrator was reportedly caught after he told Corinna to send him the money to his personal bank account - something the police easily traced back.
At the hearing, judge Eberhard Hausch said: “To put it gently, putting your own account number there is not very smart.”
In May, the Schumacher family were awarded $320,000 in compensation after a magazine published a fake AI-generated interview with the racing legend.
German publication Die Aktuelle claimed to have secured a “world exclusive” with the severely injured Ferrari great last April despite Michael not being seen publicly since his 2013 skiing accident.
In a two-page spread, promoted with a picture of Schumacher, it claimed the seven-time F1 champ had said “My life has totally changed”.
The sickening bot even spoke about the racing hero’s physical condition, family and future recovery prospects.
Another legal battle in 2016 was waged after German magazine Bunte reported the racing legend “could walk”.
The court case led to a few small pieces of information being revealed, with Schumacher’s lawyers confirming he still couldn’t walk.
Corinna also reportedly led the effort to hide a ghoulish photo of the F1 legend that was reportedly snapped and then smuggled out by a “friend” and offered around to news outlets for a whopping $1.9 million.
German prosecutors called the disgusting act a “violation of his personal range of life” and breach of privacy.
Corinna reportedly demanded the cops take action, but the media outlet refused to reveal its source - and also claimed it never saw any of the images of Schumacher.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.
Originally published as Mastermind behind Michael Schumacher blackmail plot arrested
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