Hopp blackmailer jailed for nearly four years
A man accused of trying to blackmail German billionaire Dietmar Hopp for more than €5 million was handed a prison sentence of almost four years on Wednesday by a Heidelberg district court.
The 43-year-old man, who runs a trucking firm, was accused of sending three letters in August and September threatening to kill the wife and two sons of the co-founder of software giant SAP. He received three years and nine months in jail.
On September 5, the man was arrested after a police sting operation involving an undercover detective handing over a suitcase of fake money to the blackmailer. A few days later police raided his house in Heilbronn where they found the cash.
Nothing was made public on the case until the man had already been arrested.
He reportedly said the crime was motivated by financial problems with his transport and logistics business located in Gemmingen.
Hopp, who earned his fortune from SAP, has invested heavily in the biotech industry, as well as his home town football team TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. He has not commented on the case.
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The 43-year-old man, who runs a trucking firm, was accused of sending three letters in August and September threatening to kill the wife and two sons of the co-founder of software giant SAP. He received three years and nine months in jail.
On September 5, the man was arrested after a police sting operation involving an undercover detective handing over a suitcase of fake money to the blackmailer. A few days later police raided his house in Heilbronn where they found the cash.
Nothing was made public on the case until the man had already been arrested.
He reportedly said the crime was motivated by financial problems with his transport and logistics business located in Gemmingen.
Hopp, who earned his fortune from SAP, has invested heavily in the biotech industry, as well as his home town football team TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. He has not commented on the case.
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