The blackmailers wanted 15 million from the Schumacher family.Image: keystone
The family of the former Formula 1 star should pay 15 million euros, otherwise private recordings would end up on the dark web. Now the verdict against the blackmailers is final.
December 2, 2025, 5:05 p.mDecember 2, 2025, 5:05 p.m
The Wuppertal regional court rejected the appeal in the case of the attempted blackmail of the Schumacher family and confirmed the verdict against the perpetrators. The 54-year-old main defendant from the Konstanz bouncer scene has to go to prison for three years, while a former security employee of the family received a two-year suspended sentence.
The case was reopened in an appeal process after both the co-plaintiff and the three defendants appealed against the district court’s verdict. A verdict against a 31-year-old, the son of the main defendant, has already become final after he withdrew his appeal.
Schumacher blackmail: 1,500 images and videos seized
The blackmailers had threatened to publish Michael Schumacher’s private photos and videos on the darknet if the family did not pay 15 million euros. According to the public prosecutor’s office, 900 pictures and almost 600 videos of the family as well as Michael Schumacher’s digitized medical records were seized. A hard drive remained missing.
The former Formula 1 racing driver has been shielded from the public since his serious skiing accident in 2013. Schumacher suffered a serious head injury in the accident.
Sources used:
- With information from the dpa news agency