Wuppertal: Markus F. (53) is said to have sold two photos of the late Formula 1 record champion Michael Schumacher (55) to accomplices. He’s now on trial for aiding and abetting blackmail. We now know why this heinous act was committed.

The British newspaper Daily Mail has reported that bitterness was the reason for the crime.

The accused started working for the Schumachers 18 months before the motorsport legend’s tragic skiing accident. The 53-year-old was employed as a property bodyguard and digitized private photos.

However, when the Schumachers decided to change the care arrangement after the accident and were informed of his dismissal, he is said to have been so bitter that he devised a sophisticated blackmail plan. The public prosecutor’s office says the 53-year-old defendant sold the data storage devices to bouncer Yilmaz T. (53) from Wuppertal and was paid a five-figure sum.

The recordings are thought to have been made of Mick Schumacher’s (25) 55-year-old father before and after the accident.

The 53-year-old bouncer and his son are said to have tried to extort a total of 15 million euros from the family. They said they would publish the private data about the Schumachers on the darknet otherwise.

The report says that the buyer of the files called an employee of the seven-time Formula 1 champion’s office in Switzerland at the beginning of June using a number that still needs to be given. The public prosecutor’s office says the bouncer faces up to 15 years in prison for “attempted extortion in a severe case.” His son is accused of aiding and abetting, and the ex-security guard is charged with aiding and abetting attempted extortion.