PRIVATE photos of paralysed Michael Schumacher could still be out there after a gang stole them to blackmail his family, prosecutors warned.
Three people were of using them in an attempt to blackmail £13million, but the case is back in court as the Schumacher family seeks harsher sentences.
Private photos, videos and medical records of Micahael Schumacher were stolenCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Markus Fritsche, 53, worked in the family house and lifted the drivesCredit: Facebook
Yilmaz Tozturkan, 53, was sentenced to three years, which he is appealingCredit: Avalon.red
More than 900 photos, almost 600 videos, and medical records on the racing icon after his catastrophic 2013 ski crash, were smuggled out of the house.
The data was on two hard drives and four USBs.
Cops seized all of them except for one hard drive, which .
Prosecutors say they still do not know whether the missing drive was destroyed, sold or hidden – and cannot confirm whether anyone else holds copies of the stolen images.
Markus Fritsche, who used to work in the family home, passed the hard drives to Yilmaz Tozturkan, 53, and his 30-year-old son.
Tozturkan then threatened the family with releasing everything on the dark web unless they paid the full €15m (£12.8m) ransom.
Fritsche was given a two-year suspended sentence, which the Schumachers have slammed as .
The family is seeking a harsher punishment for him, while Fritsche and Tozturkan are appealing against their convictions.
The judge told the defendants there is “little to be gained here”, and said his verdict was unlikely to deviate far from the original.
The Schumachers say Fritsche abused years of trust and inside access to steal the files.
They accused him of masterminding the plot, and warned a lenient sentence would send the wrong message to would-be blackmailers.
Schumacher’s wife, Corinna, has spoken about the “massive breach of trust” her family suffered.
At the original trial, Tozturkan admitted the extortion attempt and was jailed for three years for attempted blackmail.
His son Daniel Lins, who helped set up the email accounts used to contact the family, received only a six-month suspended sentence and a fine.
Outside court, the family’s legal team said they are prepared to fight until the final judgement for a sentence that reflects “the true gravity” of what was done.
Their lawyer Sven Schnitzer said the family will not accept anything that fails to acknowledge the scale of the betrayal.
Michael Schumacher himself has now been formally admitted as a co-plaintiff in the appeal – revealing the depth of the family’s feeling.
The Wuppertal court was packed as the retrial began yesterday, with the judge warning that the attempted extortion of the seven-time Formula One champion was one of the most shameful cases he had seen.
Daniel Lins (blurred) received a six-month suspended sentenceCredit: Avalon.red
Schumacher’s wife Corinna has been careful to keep his recovery private in the 12 years since the ski accidentCredit: AFP
He branded the extortion scheme a “disgrace”.
The judge also criticised the defendants for exploiting a man whose family has spent 12 years shielding him from public view after his skiing accident.
The court repeatedly stressed that the level of privacy surrounding Schumacher’s condition made the violations exceptionally serious.
Tozturkan refused to give any fresh testimony during the retrial, reversing the admissions he previously made at the district court.
His silence means the appeal is unlikely to uncover new information about the conspiracy or the missing data.
Schumacher is a seven-time F1 world championCredit: Getty
Michael Schumacher pictured with a baby Max Verstappen, right, and his daughter Gina-MariaCredit: Netflix
Meanwhile, a nurse who formerly cared for Schumacher is also under investigation over allegations she helped supply files to Fritsche.
She never appeared at the first trial because she claimed to suffer from “social phobia”, and officials say it is unlikely she will testify in the appeal.
Prosecutors previously said Tozturkan had claimed the ransom money was to be split three ways between himself, Fritsche and the unnamed nurse.
The appeal hearing is expected to continue until early December, with five sessions scheduled.
The court has confirmed that further witnesses will be heard – including Schumacher’s long-time manager, Sabine Kehm.
The retrial comes more than a decade after Schumacher’s accident on a French Alpine slope, which left him with severe brain trauma and permanently changed the life of one of the most famous sportsmen in history.
His family has since lived in near-complete silence, guarding the last private space he has left.
The outcome of this appeal will determine whether former security man Markus Fritsche walks free or faces the four-year custodial sentence the Schumachers are demanding.
Schumacher’s ‘Villa La Reserve’ house on Lake Como, Switzerland, where he spends timeCredit: Getty 
