German investigators arrest third suspect in attempted blackmail of former Formula 1 driver’s family – Queen City News

FILE – Michael Schumacher announces his retirement from Formula One during a news conference at the Suzuka Circuit race track during the Formula One Grand Prix in Suzuka, Japan, October 4, 2012. German prosecutors say two men who allegedly tried to blackmail the family of former Formula One champion Michael Schumacher were detained earlier this month. Prosecutors in the western German city of Wuppertal said Monday that the suspects told family employees that they had files the family did not want made public. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, File)

BERLIN (AP) — German investigators said Friday they have arrested a third suspect in an attempted blackmail of the family of former Formula One driver Michael Schumacher.

The 52-year-old man, detained on Thursday in a town near Wuppertal in western Germany, worked for the family as a security officer, German news agency dpa reported, citing prosecutors.

Investigators searched the man’s home and took items including cellphones, hard drives and USB sticks to search for evidence, prosecutor Wolf-Tilman Baumert said. The suspect was not named in line with German privacy laws.

Prosecutors investigating the case arrested two men last month and said the pair — a father and son from Wuppertal — had informed family employees that they were in possession of documents the family did not want made public.

The two men allegedly demanded a payment of several million euros or they would publish the files on the dark web, prosecutors said. As alleged evidence, the suspects sent several files to the family.

Baumert said one of the first detainees told investigators that the 52-year-old had provided files relating to a blackmail attempt. Baumert said the 52-year-old had worked for the Schumacher family in the past and had been “assigned to digitize private photos.”

Prosecutors said if convicted, the suspects face a fine or up to five years in prison.

Schumacher suffered a near-fatal brain injury while skiing in the French Alps at Meribel in December 2013. He fell and hit his head on a rock that ripped open his helmet. Since being transferred from hospital in September 2014, the seven-time F1 champion has been receiving private treatment at his family home in Switzerland.

The 55-year-old retired from F1 in 2012 after winning 91 races and five consecutive titles with Ferrari between 2000 and 2004. The German driver’s other two titles came with Benetton in 1994 and 1995.

In May, Schumacher’s family won a lawsuit against the publisher of a celebrity magazine that printed an AI-generated interview with the Formula One star.