Exposed: Schumacher bodyguard’s plot to extort £12m by releasing intimate medical photos

Extraordinary new details of an alleged blackmail plot to extort £12 million from Michael Schumacher’s family by a former assistant to the F1 legend who threatened to release highly personal photos of him on the dark web can be revealed today before the be revealed first.

Seven-time world champion Schumacher, 55, has not been seen in public since a 2013 skiing accident left him severely disabled and requiring 24-hour care, while the star’s wife Corinna has since been fiercely protective of his privacy and medical care .

One of the men Corinna brought into the family’s trusted circle to help with that care was the star’s bodyguard, Markus Fritsche, who had been recruited 18 months before his skiing accident.

For eight years, the Schumachers had no doubts about the 53-year-old’s loyalty and he was given unique access to the most intimate aspects of the disabled driver’s medical procedures.

But when the family finally decided to make changes to the care regime and Fritsche was told to let go, he is said to have grown embittered – and subsequently hatched an elaborate blackmail plot.

According to prosecutors in Germany, Fritsche recruited his old friend Yilmaz Tozturkan and his IT expert son to extort a staggering sum from the family that hired him.

The plot they allegedly devised consisted of around 1,500 images, 200 videos and extensive personal medical notes about Schumacher.

Most of this super-sensitive material was reportedly on four USB sticks and two hard drives that Fritsche allegedly removed from the Schumacher mansion when he realized he would be asked to leave.

Details of an alleged blackmail plot to extort £12 million from Michael Schumacher’s family by a former assistant to the F1 legend can be revealed for the first time today

Seven-time world champion Schumacher, 55, has not been seen in public since a 2013 skiing accident left him severely disabled and requiring 24-hour care

For eight years, the Schumachers did not doubt the loyalty of bodyguard Markus Fritsche and he was given unique access to the most intimate aspects of the legend’s medical procedures.

The gang are then said to have contacted the Schumachers, informing them of the material they had illegally obtained – and threatening to release this cache on the dark web if they were not paid a ransom of as much as £12 million.

The details of how Fritsche, along with Tozturkan, 53, and his son Daniel Lins, 30, carried out the alleged plot will be heard next month when their trial is set to begin in Wuppertal, Germany.

Tozturkan, a nightclub bouncer, and Fritsche have known each other for more than twenty years and live close to each other in Wuppertal, where the trial will take place.

In September, Wuppertal prosecutor Wolf-Tilman Baumert announced that the investigation had been completed, three months after the men were initially arrested following a joint operation by Swiss and German police.

It is understood that on the morning of June 3, Tozturkan allegedly used a hidden number to call and say he was in possession of photos and videos and allegedly threatened to release them on the dark web.

It is alleged that Tozturkan’s son Lins – who uses his mother’s maiden name – then sent four images to the Schumacher residence on June 11 and allegedly told the family they had ‘one month’ to deal with 15 million euros (£12 million). payable in two installments in exchange for the material.

The exchange would take place at the office of the Schumacher family lawyer.

A week later, on June 19, Tozturkan and his son were arrested by police in Germany after being placed under surveillance, it is believed.

According to prosecutors, Fritsche recruited his old friend Yilmaz Tozturkan and his IT expert son to extort a staggering sum from Schumacher’s family. The plot they allegedly devised consisted of 1,500 images, 200 videos and extensive personal medical notes.

Schumacher lives and receives treatments at his £50 million mansion in Gland, Switzerland

Tozturkan has been charged with extortion, while Lins has been charged with complicity in extortion.

Both father and son worked at the Gray nightclub in the German city of Konstanz, near the Swiss border, and where they both lived, although they also had apartments in Wuppertal.

Fritsche – who was working as a security guard at the Mercedes Benz factory in Dusseldorf at the time of his arrest – worked at the Schumacher estate as a close protection officer and assistant, and also helped the family with IT problems for nine years.

He started working with the family in March 2012 – just 18 months before Formula 1 legend Schumacher’s skiing accident.

During a glittering 19-year career from 1991 to 2012 with Ferrari, Mercedes and Benetton, Schumacher amassed a fortune of £468 million while winning his seven titles and 91 races.

Tozturkan is currently in custody, while his son and Fritsche, who lives in Wulfrath near Wuppertal, are out on bail.

Updates on the Ferrari legend’s health have been scarce in recent years

At next month’s hearing, Judge Birgit Neubert will decide whether there is enough evidence to continue the case. Four dates have already been set aside for further hearings, the last of which is in February next year.

Prosecutors are asking for a minimum of four years, but because of the amount reportedly sought if found guilty, the men could receive longer sentences from a higher judge.

There had already been a blackmail attempt against the Schumacher family – in 2017, a 25-year-old man was given a suspended sentence of 21 months for demanding 900,000 euros from Michael’s wife Corinna.

The man said he would ‘harm’ the couple’s son Mick but was traced after listing his personal bank account.