A 53-year-old man and his 30-year-old son are both going to prison after it emerged that they attempted to blackmail former racing driver Michael Schumacher.
In Germany, a man has been convicted of blackmailing former racing driver Michael Schumacher and his family.
The verdict was handed down by the district court in Wuppertal, Germany, and has sent shockwaves through motorsport circles and the public.
This is reported by the newspaper Bild .
Dormanden, who is central to the blackmail case, has been sentenced to three years in prison for his role in the attempt to blackmail the Schumacher family for a huge sum of money.
Together with two other accomplices, he attempted to extort 15 million euros from the family, equivalent to a staggering 112 million kroner.
The three men, who in addition to the goalkeeper include his son and the Schumacher family's former bodyguard, threatened to publish confidential medical records, photos and videos of the seven-time Formula 1 world champion.
Material that could have been destructive to the family and their privacy.
It was the former bodyguard who transferred up to 1,500 confidential files to the doorman. This data, which had originally been stolen, first ended up with the bodyguard before being passed on to the doorman. The bodyguard has been sentenced to two years' probation for his involvement in the blackmail.
The 53-year-old suspect, Yilmaz Tozturkan, threatened the Schumacher family with uploading the files to the 'dark web' if he was not paid. An act that would have had incalculable consequences for the family. At least according to the verdict.
In court, Tozturkan pleaded not guilty to blackmail. Instead, he claimed that he had simply offered the family a 'business deal'. An explanation that did not convince the judges.
Before the verdict was handed down, Tozturkan had second thoughts. At least he was told that he regrets and is ashamed of his actions.
– I am very sorry and ashamed of what I did. It was a very disgusting thing.
"I take full responsibility," he told the court.
He is currently serving a prison sentence for another case.
The defendant's 30-year-old son has also been given a six-month suspended sentence for his role in the extortion attempt.
The Schumacher family's lawyer, Thilo Damm, has announced that the family will appeal the 'lenient sentences'.
"We do not agree with everything the court has said. You can be sure that we will exhaust all legal options available to us," says Damm.
The lawyer also expressed concern that there are missing hard drives believed to contain stolen files.
"We don't know where the missing hard drive is, so there is the possibility of another threat through the backdoor," he told German media.
Michael Schumacher's health following his skiing accident in December 2013 remains a subject of great mystery, with only a small group of people close to the family knowing his actual condition.
