Michael Schumacher’s former bodyguard ‘faces lengthy prison sentence for attempting to extort £12m from the F1 legend’s family’

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 the Formula 1 legend 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 worked with the Schumacher family for eight years. When they decided to let him go in 2020 after opting to change Michael’s care plan, it was alleged that he became bitter and indulged in 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.  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.   The post Michael Schumacher’s former bodyguard ‘faces lengthy prison sentence for attempting to extort 12m from the F1 legend’s family’ appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.