In 2025, a nightclub bouncer faced justice after being found guilty by a German court for participating in an elaborate plot to blackmail Michael Schumacher. The scheme involved demanding £12 million in exchange for not disclosing private images of the iconic former Formula 1 driver. Yilmaz Tozturkan, 53, was sentenced to three years in prison, while his son, Daniel Lins, a 30-year-old IT expert, received a suspended six-month prison sentence for his involvement in the crime.

The case dates back to Schumacher’s tragic skiing accident in 2013, an incident that left the Formula 1 champion with severe head injuries and led his family into a period of intense privacy regarding his health condition. In this context, the blackmail scheme came to light when the accused attempted to extort the family, threatening to release intimate recordings and photos of Michael unless they were paid a significant sum of money. This led to an investigation and subsequent trial.

CASE DETAILS

The plot unfolded when Markus Fritsche, a former security employee of the Schumacher family, betrayed their trust by stealing more than 1,500 confidential images, videos, and medical records from a computer. After taking the data, Fritsche handed the sensitive information over to Yilmaz Tozturkan, who then threatened to upload the files to the “dark web” if he did not receive the demanded payment for the stolen material.

Despite Tozturkan denying the blackmail accusations, claiming he was merely offering a “business deal“, the court found him guilty of attempted extortion. The Schumacher family expressed deep concern over the potential ongoing threat posed by the unrecovered hard drive containing confidential material, leaving open the possibility of future leaks and blackmail attempts.