THE mastermind accused of a blackmail plot against F1 ace Michael Schumacher has been revealed as his families bodyguard, say German cops.

Two other men have also been arrested after they are alleged to have threatened to release pictures of the stricken star if they weren’t given over £12million from the heartbroken family.

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A third man has been arrested over a Michael Schumacher blackmail plotCredit: Alamy

The alleged blackmail plot was targeting Schumacher’s family, claim German copsCredit: Netflix

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Doorman Yilmaz T. is said to be one of the men behind the blackmail plot
The first two men arrested were a father and son duo accused of trying to plot against the Schumacher family.

Yilmaz T., 53, and his son, 30, from Wuppertal, western Germany, face up five years in prison if found guilty of the allegations.

A third man involved in the case has now also been arrested.

The 52-year-old has been described as the “mastermind” behind the plot, say German cops.

He worked as a security guard for the Schumacher family, announced the public prosecutor’s office in Wuppertal.

The man was detained on Thursday in Wülfrath as a large number of evidence was also seized from his property.

Family employees close to wife Corinna Schumacher were said to have been approached by the trio who claimed to have found a file of secrets on the F1 driver.

Michael, who hasn’t been seen or heard from for over a decade after a horror ski crash, has been looked after by his close-knit family since the accident.

According to the Wuppertal office, the men said the family wouldn’t want the files to become public due to what they contained.

To keep the information private the trio reportedly demanded they were sent millions to keep the information off the dark web.

The suspects were even alleged to have sent some of the files to the family as proof, the prosecutors in June.

Cops were able to track down the extortionists through “technical measures”, it was announced last month.

In 2016, a 25-year-old man known as Hüseyin B sent a threatening email to Corinna targeting the couple’s children.

The mum-of-two quickly passed on the email to the police who swiftly tracked down the painter.

After being arrested, the thug was sent to court where a judge sentenced him for a year and nine months behind bars.

The perpetrator was reportedly caught after he told Corinna to send him the money to his personal bank account – something the police easily traced back.

At the hearing, judge Eberhard Hausch said: “To put it gently, putting your own account number there is not very smart.”

In May, the Schumacher family were awarded £170,000 in compensation after a magazine published a fake AI-generated interview with the racing legend.

German publication Die Aktuelle claimed to have secured a “world exclusive” with the severely injured Ferrari great last April despite Michael not being seen publicly since his 2013 skiing accident.

In a two-page spread, promoted with a picture of Schumacher, it claimed the seven-time F1 champ had said “My life has totally changed”.

The sickening bot even spoke about the racing hero’s physical condition, family and future recovery prospects.

Another legal battle in 2016 was waged after German magazine Bunte reported the racing legend “could walk”.

The court case led to a few small pieces of information being revealed, with Schumacher’s lawyers confirming he still couldn’t walk.

Corinna also reportedly led the effort to hide a ghoulish photo of the F1 legend that was reportedly snapped and then smuggled out by a “friend” and offered around to news outlets for a whopping £1million.