The family of Michael Schumacher has lodged an appeal against a “far too lenient sentence” for one of the defendants found guilty in a blackmail plot.
Last week, a German court found three people guilty of trying to extract money from the Formula 1 legend’s family with the threat of releasing videos and photos of him.
Schumacher has not been seen in public since he suffered serious brain injuries in a 2013 skiing accident, and his family has kept his medical condition private.
The blackmail plot leader, Yilmaz T., was sentenced to three years in prison while his son, Daniel L., was given a six-month suspended prison sentence.
The third suspect, Markus F. — who had had been working for the family 18 months before the skiing accident — received a suspended two-year prison sentence, and the Schumacher family believe his sentence was too lenient.
“We have appealed against what we consider to be the far too lenient sentence for Mr. F.,” read a statement from Corinna Schumacher, Michael’s wife. “In my opinion, he was the mastermind behind this.
“What still shocks me most is the massive breach of trust. He should receive a punishment that deters any potential copycats.”
Last year, Schumacher’s family secured €200,000 ($207,840.00) compensation from the publishers of a German magazine that printed an AI-generated ‘interview’ with the seven-time F1 world champion.