- Markus Fritsche was hired as a bodyguard by the Schumacher family in 2012
- Michael Schumacher was involved in a life-changing skiing accident in 2013
- Fritsche is accused of blackmailing the Schumacher family after being let go
Michael Schumacher‘s former bodyguard is set to stand trial for allegedly attempting to extort £12million from the F1 icon’s family.
Markus Fritsche was hired by the Schumachers in 2012, 18 months before Michael was involved in a life-changing skiing accident.
The seven-time F1 champion has not been seen in public since after being left seriously disabled and in need of 24-hour care.
Fritsche was a close confidant of the Schumacher family for eight years, but when they decided to let him go in 2020 after opting to change Michael’s care plan, it has been alleged that he became bitter and hatched a blackmail plot.
He is accused of threatening to release highly personal photos and videos of Michael to the dark web unless he was given €15m (£12m) by the German legend’s family.
His trial at a German district court is due to begin on Tuesday, and Fritsche is facing a ‘severe prison sentence’ if found guilty, as reported by Bild.
Michael Schumacher’s former bodyguard Markus Fritsche (pictured) is set to stand trial for allegedly trying to extort £12m from the F1 icon’s family
Michael Schumacher needs 24-hour care after being involved in a skiing accident in 2013
His wife Corinna (right) has been very protective of his privacy, but his former bodyguard is accused of threatening to release photos and videos of Michael unless he was paid £12m
According to the prosecution, Fritsche stored and stole around 1,500 pictures and 200 videos from the Schumacher villa on four USB sticks and two hard drives.
The prosecution also claims Fritsche has information about the star’s health and treatment.
Fritsche is not the only person allegedly involved in the alleged blackmail plot, as he is accused of selling the data storage devices to his long-term friend Yilmaz Tozturkan, as well as his IT expert son Daniel Lins, for a five-figure sum between October 2022 and May 2024, as revealed by MailOnline last month.
Tozturkan, a nightclub bouncer, and Fritsche had known each other for more than 20 years and live close to each other in Wuppertal, where the trial is due to take place.
In September Wuppertal public prosecutor Wolf-Tilman Baumert announced the investigation had been completed, three months after the men had initially been arrested following a joint operation by Swiss and German police.
It is understood that on the morning of June 3, Tozturkan allegedly used a withheld number to call and say he was in possession of photos and videos and allegedly threatened to release them onto the dark web.
It is claimed 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 ‘a month’ to come up with €15m (£12m) payable in two instalments in exchange for the material.
The exchange was to 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.
Tozturkan could be jailed for up to 15 years for ‘attempted extortion in a particularly serious case’, according to the public prosecutor’s office, while Lins has been accused of aiding and abetting extortion.
