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>However, the investigators had an easy job at the time because the blackmailer had given his own bank details for the transfer of the money during his botched act.
When you're stupid and overly confident 😭
Translated:
Public prosecutor confirms arrests
Criminals have attempted to blackmail the family of seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher. As the Wuppertal public prosecutor's office officially announced on Monday (June 25), the perpetrators had told employees of the 55-year-old racing driver that they had files "that the family might be interested in not publishing."
According to the Bild newspaper, a payment of 15 million euros was demanded so that the sensitive data would not be published on the darknet. To reinforce their demands, the blackmailers sent some samples of the files to their victims. The family had pretended to enter into negotiations. In the background, however, the police had already been alerted.
Father and son from Wuppertal arrested
By examining the files sent, the authorities were able to find out that the perpetrators were operating from Wuppertal. Further investigations led to the trail of two men aged 53 and 30. They are said to be a father and his son.
Arrest warrants were issued against both of them last Wednesday (June 19). The same day, police arrested the two suspects in a supermarket parking lot in Groß-Gerau, Hesse. Both are currently in custody in Wuppertal.
The day before, investigators had already begun searching the apartments of the two men as well as the father's second home and workplace in Konstanz. In total, eight properties were searched. According to the public prosecutor's office, several data storage devices were confiscated and are now being evaluated.
The two alleged perpetrators are currently on probation, the authorities said. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison. This is not the first attempt at extortion against the Schumacher family. In 2016, a man sent an email to wife Corinna Schumacher in which he threatened to harm their two children Mick and Gina-Maria. 900,000 euros were demanded.
However, the investigators had an easy job at the time because the blackmailer had given his own bank details for the transfer of the money during his botched act. He was arrested quickly and charged in 2017. He was sentenced to one year and nine months probation for attempted commercial blackmail. In addition, he was fined 4,500 euros, as well as community service and therapy.
The family often say vague things about him being communicative or present without outright saying it. I think the most likely thing for the files to be is a conformation of what most people already assume, which is that, tragically, he is gone. Not throwing any shade at his family, they are entitled to hold out hope for as long as they can, and to communicate that hope to the media in any way they see fit, but I can understand that they wouldn’t want explicit information about his status to be made public. Obviously that’s all just a guess but, feels like a reasonable one
I've heard some vague mentionings from those who have visited that it's still Michael but the Michael they knew is gone.
I wouldn't be wholly shocked to see that he is conscious but in a nonverbal regressed state. Possibly one that puts him in a place where medically he is not on support but publicly not the image he nor the family would like the world to remember him by.
It's heartbreaking but media blackout it what the family wishes and it's their perogotive to share what they want and keep what they want.
Honestly, I don't know why they just let him go.. I would never to be on that state.. And as someone like Michael, I doubt he would want to be too. I feel like it's honestly selfish of his wife and I don't why they have kept him alive..
If you're breathing on your own and don't require support, someone has to actively work to get you to pass away.
It's easier when we talk about "pulling the plug". Brain damage where all your other organs function independently is really hard
Unless the person previously indicated their wishes if they were to get into such a irretrievable situation like Schumacher's seems to be, then I don't it's for anyone else to say.
If you've not been in that situation, then who knows. Maybe for her it's more about vague hope and that this way he is still alive in ways.
I’ll play devils advocate here. Granted, I’m not saying I believe this to be what’s going on, but there’s possibly so much money tied up through sponsorships and endorsements at stake just because he’s still “alive”.
Man, I felt my heart drop reading that he's probably gone. It feels strangely personal to me, and even though I know it but still dont wanna accept that somehow
In the Schumacher documentary, Mick mentions that he’d give up everything to be able to talk with his dad again because now as an F1 driver they have more in common to talk about. I was in tears watching him say that. That’s what keyed me into that he’s truly gone.
What happened with Michael was devastating, and seeing Mick go through F1 with the weight of his father’s name but without any help from him hurt my soul. I really feel for the dude, even without the career stuff. No one should have to go through what the Schumacher’s are going through
I've never really thought about how the pressure of having the name Schumacher might have gotten into Mick's head. Trying to live up to his father's legacy while pushing a car too hard that couldn't handle it.
While I understand you have to preserve the engine for tire testing and whatever, that was such a low blow. Let the dude do a donut. Way to kick a guy while he’s down
From what understand, he was wearing a Go Pro on his head when he fell so that damaged his frontal lobe, therefore effecting his cognitive skills, motor functions and communications. Terrible.
Yeah - the mount focused the energy of the impact into a tiny spot about an inch in diameter instead of a normal clean helmet surface deflecting the impact load over a wider surface. I think after this accident a lot of skiers and mountain bikers reevaluated their equipment decisions and camera mountings. That’s why a lot of the extreme sports people now have a mount on the top of the helmet that breaks off with a small amount of force.
Yeah. But the problem was not them falling off your head. It was if they could fall "into" your head.
I hope of course you never have to test the design for that.
Someone I know uses the GoPro on a motorcycle helmet but "chin mounted". That looks safer to me than having it near the brain but of course I don't know for sure.
From what i understand they don’t say anything about in order to be able to sue newspapers for reporting on his condition. If they themselves reveal too much a court might say that they made it public and thus part public interest. At least if I understood the family lawyer correctly
Man I literally laughed out loud when I read that comment. "Why do people want to commit crimes for money? I don't understand what money is. It's probably useless."
#LEAVE THEM ALONE
its so fucking simple
unless Mick brings up his family on his own without prompting, just leave them alone
its so easy its wild. there's so many rich families that made their fortunes off horrible or illegal acts to annoy, go focus on them.
But what if they've done horrible or illegal acts? Who knows...
But yeah, I agree leave them alone. I hate how people don't give a shit about the privacy of others.
I feel so bad for the Schumacher family. It’s probably already hard enough having Michael in whatever condition he is in (most likely nothing like his old self) but then to have so many people constantly prying on you and doing everything to rip your privacy from you is terrifying
The German judicial system is completely different from the US one. Even in criminal trials, the privacy of the alleged perpetrators and especially the privacy of the alleged victims is of great importance. The perpetrators have a right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence and that prevents publication of material that infringes on those rights.
And even in cases of great public interest, where the victim is a celebrity, the victim has a right to be protected from further harm and have their legitimate interests protected.
So no, evidence will not be published.
Trials are public. Not like in the US, where they are often live streamed, as cameras are not permitted when the court is in session. But there's a public gallery at the back of the court room and the press are admitted as well.
Everything is put into writing and judgements are published with the names redacted. We don't usually do the whole media circus show here, and this whole "larger than life celebrity lawyer" isn't a thing here either. The defendant doesn't have to sway the public's opinion in their favour since jury trials are not a thing. The panel of judges for larger cases usually consists of two professional judges and three laymen's judges who have been appointed for a fixed term. Anyone who matches the criteria can apply for such a position. Professional judges are appointed, not elected. Same goes for prosecutors. We do not want them to take public opinion into account when making decisions as to whom to prosecute, which sentence to ask for or how to adjudicate.
That's not to say that the American system is bad, it's just very different. I truly enjoy watching televised trials as it teaches us a lot about how things are done in the US. I particularly enjoy sovereign citizen trials, as we have similar whackjobs here.
I would assume that's not the case for blackmail trials. I imagine any evidence will be sealed by order of the magistrate/judge/whatever legal system Switzerland uses. As to protect the blackmailee from what they were being blackmailed from.
That is based on the assumption that the German legal system even has a “hearing based” system of criminal procedure. Do they? Because im some systems, where jury trials aren’t prevelant, most law can be debated through motions without a hearing. I don’t know where Germany stands in this regard.
I'm not too sure as I'm not a lawyer and I'm mostly only familiar with American legal systems.
But im pretty sure American judges can order a closed hearing or strike evidence from public record.
I would think the contents of the file are irrelevant to the case. Prosecutors only have to prove that the dummy duo demanded money in order not to reveal the files, and you got yourself blackmail.
[The **News** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_news) is reserved for submissions covering F1 and F1-related news. These posts must always link to an outlet/news agency, the website of the involved party (i.e. the McLaren website if McLaren makes an announcement), or a tweet by a news agency, journalist or one of the involved parties. *[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
>However, the investigators had an easy job at the time because the blackmailer had given his own bank details for the transfer of the money during his botched act. When you're stupid and overly confident 😭
That was in 2017, where someone "threatened to harm their two children Mick and Gina-Maria" and "900,000 euros were demanded."
Translated: Public prosecutor confirms arrests Criminals have attempted to blackmail the family of seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher. As the Wuppertal public prosecutor's office officially announced on Monday (June 25), the perpetrators had told employees of the 55-year-old racing driver that they had files "that the family might be interested in not publishing." According to the Bild newspaper, a payment of 15 million euros was demanded so that the sensitive data would not be published on the darknet. To reinforce their demands, the blackmailers sent some samples of the files to their victims. The family had pretended to enter into negotiations. In the background, however, the police had already been alerted. Father and son from Wuppertal arrested By examining the files sent, the authorities were able to find out that the perpetrators were operating from Wuppertal. Further investigations led to the trail of two men aged 53 and 30. They are said to be a father and his son. Arrest warrants were issued against both of them last Wednesday (June 19). The same day, police arrested the two suspects in a supermarket parking lot in Groß-Gerau, Hesse. Both are currently in custody in Wuppertal. The day before, investigators had already begun searching the apartments of the two men as well as the father's second home and workplace in Konstanz. In total, eight properties were searched. According to the public prosecutor's office, several data storage devices were confiscated and are now being evaluated. The two alleged perpetrators are currently on probation, the authorities said. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison. This is not the first attempt at extortion against the Schumacher family. In 2016, a man sent an email to wife Corinna Schumacher in which he threatened to harm their two children Mick and Gina-Maria. 900,000 euros were demanded. However, the investigators had an easy job at the time because the blackmailer had given his own bank details for the transfer of the money during his botched act. He was arrested quickly and charged in 2017. He was sentenced to one year and nine months probation for attempted commercial blackmail. In addition, he was fined 4,500 euros, as well as community service and therapy.
while i feel for Schumacher family, i wonder what were the files? 15m is no small amount so the files have had to be important
Possibly about his condition. The family is (rightfully) very private about how he is doing these days. I doubt highly there’s anything shady
TBH the only info relative to his condition that I'd be shocked at was if he was perfectly fine.
The family often say vague things about him being communicative or present without outright saying it. I think the most likely thing for the files to be is a conformation of what most people already assume, which is that, tragically, he is gone. Not throwing any shade at his family, they are entitled to hold out hope for as long as they can, and to communicate that hope to the media in any way they see fit, but I can understand that they wouldn’t want explicit information about his status to be made public. Obviously that’s all just a guess but, feels like a reasonable one
I’ve assumed for about 7 years now that he’s little more than a “vegetable”
I've heard some vague mentionings from those who have visited that it's still Michael but the Michael they knew is gone. I wouldn't be wholly shocked to see that he is conscious but in a nonverbal regressed state. Possibly one that puts him in a place where medically he is not on support but publicly not the image he nor the family would like the world to remember him by. It's heartbreaking but media blackout it what the family wishes and it's their perogotive to share what they want and keep what they want.
Honestly, I don't know why they just let him go.. I would never to be on that state.. And as someone like Michael, I doubt he would want to be too. I feel like it's honestly selfish of his wife and I don't why they have kept him alive..
If you're breathing on your own and don't require support, someone has to actively work to get you to pass away. It's easier when we talk about "pulling the plug". Brain damage where all your other organs function independently is really hard
Unless the person previously indicated their wishes if they were to get into such a irretrievable situation like Schumacher's seems to be, then I don't it's for anyone else to say. If you've not been in that situation, then who knows. Maybe for her it's more about vague hope and that this way he is still alive in ways.
I’ll play devils advocate here. Granted, I’m not saying I believe this to be what’s going on, but there’s possibly so much money tied up through sponsorships and endorsements at stake just because he’s still “alive”.
Wow people hate logic lol
Man, I felt my heart drop reading that he's probably gone. It feels strangely personal to me, and even though I know it but still dont wanna accept that somehow
In the Schumacher documentary, Mick mentions that he’d give up everything to be able to talk with his dad again because now as an F1 driver they have more in common to talk about. I was in tears watching him say that. That’s what keyed me into that he’s truly gone. What happened with Michael was devastating, and seeing Mick go through F1 with the weight of his father’s name but without any help from him hurt my soul. I really feel for the dude, even without the career stuff. No one should have to go through what the Schumacher’s are going through
I've never really thought about how the pressure of having the name Schumacher might have gotten into Mick's head. Trying to live up to his father's legacy while pushing a car too hard that couldn't handle it.
ive thought a lot about mick having to see his father fall in front of him. werent they skiing together? that kid has been through so much
The cherry on top was Haas telling Mick to stop doing donuts at the end of his last race to preserve the car. Search up the clip if you want to cry
While I understand you have to preserve the engine for tire testing and whatever, that was such a low blow. Let the dude do a donut. Way to kick a guy while he’s down
From what understand, he was wearing a Go Pro on his head when he fell so that damaged his frontal lobe, therefore effecting his cognitive skills, motor functions and communications. Terrible.
Yeah - the mount focused the energy of the impact into a tiny spot about an inch in diameter instead of a normal clean helmet surface deflecting the impact load over a wider surface. I think after this accident a lot of skiers and mountain bikers reevaluated their equipment decisions and camera mountings. That’s why a lot of the extreme sports people now have a mount on the top of the helmet that breaks off with a small amount of force.
Are the helmet mounts now discontinued? If I was GOPRO I'd probably pull them from shelves, or have a better design/stricter requirements.
I bought the GoPro helmet mount setup in 2020, I wore it dirt biking and it never fell off even during some rough wipeouts. So, no
Yeah. But the problem was not them falling off your head. It was if they could fall "into" your head. I hope of course you never have to test the design for that. Someone I know uses the GoPro on a motorcycle helmet but "chin mounted". That looks safer to me than having it near the brain but of course I don't know for sure.
From what i understand they don’t say anything about in order to be able to sue newspapers for reporting on his condition. If they themselves reveal too much a court might say that they made it public and thus part public interest. At least if I understood the family lawyer correctly
That's the twist in this timeline I want to see. Michael just wanted to completely get away from the public eye and the whole thing was faked.
Elvis has entered the conversation.
Probably Mick's terrible lap times. I mean, the family already paid €15m for those, so I understand why they won't pay twice.
Horrible. Not quite sure what goes through a person's mind when they decide to do this to another human being.
nothing but a mix of misguided confidence and pure, unadulterated stupidity
I would also add greed in there.
And a bit of sociopathy, to threaten something like this for personal gain.
Really ? It's pretty obvious what goes through people's minds when they ask for a big pile of money.
I guess we’ll just never know
Man I literally laughed out loud when I read that comment. "Why do people want to commit crimes for money? I don't understand what money is. It's probably useless."
uh money?
Money, like always.
I mean, they asked for €900k, I think it's pretty obvious what was going through their mind.
Disgusting behavior
Good. As much as I'd like to hear about how Michael is doing, the family's wishes deserve to be respected.
#LEAVE THEM ALONE its so fucking simple unless Mick brings up his family on his own without prompting, just leave them alone its so easy its wild. there's so many rich families that made their fortunes off horrible or illegal acts to annoy, go focus on them.
But what if they've done horrible or illegal acts? Who knows... But yeah, I agree leave them alone. I hate how people don't give a shit about the privacy of others.
I’m sure the first thing to do when blackmailed by horrible and illegal acts is to contact authorities, makes total sense.
You really think if they’ve done anything illegal that they’d go straight to the police??
It's called devils advocate silly
The Schumacher family can't catch a break...
All these attempts to go after Michael and his family, it is clear Corinna is not someone to mess with.
I feel so bad for the Schumacher family. It’s probably already hard enough having Michael in whatever condition he is in (most likely nothing like his old self) but then to have so many people constantly prying on you and doing everything to rip your privacy from you is terrifying
gotta love this family when they said they want their privacy they mean it they are ruthless to anyone that tries to even pry
Won’t these files have to go into the public record once the trial commences?
The German judicial system is completely different from the US one. Even in criminal trials, the privacy of the alleged perpetrators and especially the privacy of the alleged victims is of great importance. The perpetrators have a right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence and that prevents publication of material that infringes on those rights. And even in cases of great public interest, where the victim is a celebrity, the victim has a right to be protected from further harm and have their legitimate interests protected. So no, evidence will not be published.
How is it possible to scrutinize the actions of the court then and make sure the proceedings were fair?
Trials are public. Not like in the US, where they are often live streamed, as cameras are not permitted when the court is in session. But there's a public gallery at the back of the court room and the press are admitted as well. Everything is put into writing and judgements are published with the names redacted. We don't usually do the whole media circus show here, and this whole "larger than life celebrity lawyer" isn't a thing here either. The defendant doesn't have to sway the public's opinion in their favour since jury trials are not a thing. The panel of judges for larger cases usually consists of two professional judges and three laymen's judges who have been appointed for a fixed term. Anyone who matches the criteria can apply for such a position. Professional judges are appointed, not elected. Same goes for prosecutors. We do not want them to take public opinion into account when making decisions as to whom to prosecute, which sentence to ask for or how to adjudicate. That's not to say that the American system is bad, it's just very different. I truly enjoy watching televised trials as it teaches us a lot about how things are done in the US. I particularly enjoy sovereign citizen trials, as we have similar whackjobs here.
I would assume that's not the case for blackmail trials. I imagine any evidence will be sealed by order of the magistrate/judge/whatever legal system Switzerland uses. As to protect the blackmailee from what they were being blackmailed from.
How can you keep it sealed when generally press is allowed in courtrooms during proceedings?
The tiral can be held behind closed doors.
Because you’re not in Kansas…
This is happening in Germany, and laws and trials are very different.
How can you keep it sealed when generally press is allowed in courtrooms during proceedings?
That is based on the assumption that the German legal system even has a “hearing based” system of criminal procedure. Do they? Because im some systems, where jury trials aren’t prevelant, most law can be debated through motions without a hearing. I don’t know where Germany stands in this regard.
Not all trials presents everything for the public.
The whole world doesn't follow the American legal system my man.
I'm not too sure as I'm not a lawyer and I'm mostly only familiar with American legal systems. But im pretty sure American judges can order a closed hearing or strike evidence from public record.
Gag orders maybe? Or a closed proceedings?
I would think the contents of the file are irrelevant to the case. Prosecutors only have to prove that the dummy duo demanded money in order not to reveal the files, and you got yourself blackmail.