A court has given a jail sentence to a man who tried to blackmail the family of former racing star Michael Schumacher. Two others were given suspended sentences for their role in the affair.
Germany: 3 convicted in Michael Schumacher blackmail plot

A court has given a jail sentence to a man who tried to blackmail the family of former racing star Michael Schumacher. Two others were given suspended sentences for their role in the affair.

Michael Schumacher seen in Brazil
Michael Schumacher (archive photo) was one of the greats of Formula One car racingImage: Clive Mason/Getty Images
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A German court has convicted three men over their roles in a plot to blackmail the family of Formula One legend Michael Schumacher.

Two of the men — a father and son named only as Yilmaz T. and Daniel L. — were accused of threatening to release private photos and videos of Schumacher on the dark web if they were not paid €15 million ($15.6 million).

The father, 53, received a three-year jail sentence while the son, 30, was handed a six-month suspended sentence by the regional court in the western city of Wuppertal on Wednesday.

The third, a former security guard identified only as Markus F. who worked for the family at its Switzerland residence, was sentenced to two years’ probation after being accused of selling the images to the two blackmailers for a reported five-figure sum.

The verdicts can still be appealed.

Schumacher, 56, a seven-time Formula One champion, has not appeared in public since a 2013 skiing accident in the French Alps left him with a severe brain injury.