Three years and nine months for blackmail of football billionaire

A man was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison on Wednesday for blackmailing German billionaire Dietmar Hopp, a key investor in Hoffenheim football club. Ralf M, a haulier from the town of Gemmingen near Stuttgart, was found guilty of extortionate robbery.
The 43-year-old confessed in court that he had threatened to kill Hopp's family if they did not give him 5.5 million euros (8 million dollars). The court said the sentence took into account the man's guilty plea, but was also aimed at preventing copycat blackmail attempts since Hopp was such a prominent figure.