German court punishes Schumacher blackmailers

A German court on Wednesday sentenced to jail the architect of a blackmail plot against the family of Formula One great Michael Schumacher, who has not been seen in public since a 2013 skiing accident.

A father and son, named only as 53-year-old Yilmaz T. and his 30-year-old son Daniel L., were accused of demanding 15 million euros ($15.6 million) from Schumacher's family. The father was jailed for three years while his son was given a six-month suspended sentence.

The pair from Wuppertal in western Germany threatened to release private photos and videos of the seven-time Formula One champion if they did not get the money.

These purportedly included images of the racing great, now 56, before and after the skiing accident which left him with a serious brain injury.

A third man, identified as Markus F., who had worked at the Schumacher residence in Switzerland, was accused of supplying the blackmailers with the images.

Prosecutors said the former security guard for the family sold the images of Schumacher for what was described as a five-figure sum.

The pair made a wide-ranging admission of guilt at the start of the trial at the regional district court in Wuppertal and expressed their regret again on Wednesday in court.

Markus F. received a two-year suspended prison sentence.