British sprinter CJ Ujah, who won gold in the 4x100m relay at the 2017 World Championships, is among 10 suspects charged with conspiracy to defraud in connection with a police investigation into cryptocurrency fraud. Ujah has not competed since April 2025.
Authorities allege the suspects were part of an organized crime group involved in a scheme where callers posed as police officers or representatives of cryptocurrency companies to trick victims into revealing sensitive security details, including seed phrases. Once the information was obtained, funds were stolen from victims’ crypto wallets, with one victim reportedly losing more than £300,000.
The charges stem from an investigation by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit, which conducted arrests across Kent, Essex, and London. All 10 suspects appeared at Margate Magistrates’ Court last Thursday. Ujah was among seven granted bail until the next hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court on 28 May.
Now 32, Ujah ran the first leg for Great Britain’s relay team in 2017 when they won world championship gold—a race that marked Usain Bolt’s final appearance. That same year, Ujah, whose personal best in the 100m is 9.96 seconds, also claimed the Diamond League title. In 2022, he received a 22-month ban after testing positive for two prohibited substances—Ostarine and S-23—at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The Athletics Integrity Unit cleared him of intentional doping, attributing the positive test to a contaminated beta-alanine supplement purchased on Amazon for £10 during lockdown. The violation, however, led to Great Britain being stripped of its Olympic silver medal in the 4x100m relay.
After his ban ended, Ujah reached the 100m semi-finals at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome but has not competed since April 2025. Also among the 10 suspects is Brandon Mingeli, who represented Great Britain in the 100m at the 2021 European Under-23 Championships. Mingeli has been remanded in custody until the crown court hearing at the end of May.
