Michael Schumacher’s former security officer stole 1,500 photographs and 200 videos in an attempt to blackmail the Schumacher family for €15 million, according to German prosecutors.

Markus Fritsche is accused of stealing photographs and videos to use in a blackmail scheme during his eight years working for the Schumacher family.

Schumacher family blackmailer to stand trial in Germany

The now 53-year-old became a security officer for the Schumacher family before Michael Schumacher’s tragic skiing accident in 2013 but stayed in the family’s inner circle long after the incident.

During that time, Fritsche had access to private documents such as the former Ferrari driver’s medical records as well videos and photos which he attempted to blackmail the family with after he was sacked.

The security officer will stand trial in the German city of Wuppertal later this month alongside his co-conspirators Yilmaz Tozturkan, 53 and his son Daniel Lins, 30. Judge Birgit Neubert will rule if there is enough prosecution evidence for the case to proceed and four dates have already been selected for further hearings.

The trio are accused of stealing four USB sticks and two hard drives that the former security officer removed from the Schumacher’s home in Switzerland. They then contacted the family in June of this year to blackmail and threatened to release the information onto the dark web if the €15 million ransom was not paid.

Tozturkan called the family on June 3 using a withheld number, prompting an employee of the family to ask for proof which was sent via an untraceable email address.

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That email was sent by Lins on June 11 and allegedly included four images along with the random demand which was to be paid in two instalments over the next month. However, instead of paying the ransom, the Schumacher family contacted Swiss police who were able to trace the call. The trio were then put under surveillance before being arrested in Germany on June 19.

Fritsche has known nightclub bouncer Tozturkan for more than 20 years and both are charged with extortion. Lins meanwhile is accused of aiding and abetting extortion.

Prosecutors are demanding at least four years in jail but given the large sum, the men could be given longer terms if found guilty. Tozturkan is being held in custody while his son and Fritsche were released on bail.

Details of Schumacher’s current condition have been kept extremely private since the accident. Reports of the seven-time World Champion attending the wedding of his daughter earlier this year were thought to be wide of the mark.

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