Yilmaz Tozturkan, the mastermind behind a plot to blackmail Michael Schumacher’s family for €15 million, has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Tozturkan and two other men were found guilty of a blackmail plot in which they threated to release private photos and videos of Schumacher on the dark web if they were not paid by his family.

Michael Schumacher’s family are considering appealing the sentences

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Tozturkan, a nightclub bouncer from Germany, and his son Daniel Lins stood accused of demanding €15 million from the Schumacher family or they’d release 1,500 confidential files relating to the German and his recovery.

Schumacher, 56, has not appeared in public since suffering severe brain injuries in a horrific skiing accident in December 2013, with the seven-time F1 World Champion’s family fiercely protective of his privacy in the years since.

Markus Fritsche, a former security guard at the Schumacher estate, was on trial for supplying the information and photographs.

Prosecutors claimed Fritsche sold the information to Tozturkan for what was described as a five-figure sum. The material included 900 pictures and almost 600 videos of Schumacher and his family, as well as the German’s digitised medical records.

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During the proceedings, which began in December, the court was played the blackmail calls made to the family.

Tozturkan, who made an admission of guilty at the start of the trial, was sentenced to three years in prison for attempted extortion.

“It’s a very, very disgusting thing that I did. I realised that on the second day in prison. I will answer for it,” he said. “I am very sorry and ashamed. I will take responsibility for what I have done.”

His son Lins was given six months in prison with a suspended sentence for aiding and abetting the attempted extortion. As part of his probation, he must, among other things, pay an amount of €1,200 to the Wuppertal Probation Association.

As for Fritsche, he was sentenced to three years in prison with a suspended sentence in conjunction with violation of the most personal sphere of life by taking pictures. He must pay an amount of €2,400.00 as a probation condition.

Schumacher’s lawyer, Thilo Damm, revealed the Ferrari legend’s family may appeal the sentences.

In a statement released to PlanetF1.com, he said: “We do not share all of the court’s statements, in particular that Mr F. is only accused of aiding and abetting and not of complicity.

“You can assume that we will exhaust all legal remedies available to us.”

Despite efforts by law enforcement to recover the stolen material, some of the files remain missing, compounding the family’s concerns about Schumacher’s private information continuing to be at risk.

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