British sprint star charged over ‘cryptocurrency scam’ which saw victim lose £300k

An alleged phone call scam that lost one victim over £300,000 in cryptocurrency has led to the arrest and subsequent charging of CJ Ujah with conspiracy to defraud

British sprinter CJ Ujah is among 10 suspects charged with conspiracy to defraud after being arrested as part of a cryptocurrency fraud investigation. They are allegedly part of an organised crime group linked to a phone call scam that lost one victim over £300,000.

Victims report being tricked into sharing important security details, including seed phrases, only to discover that funds in their crypto wallets had been stolen. The suspects allegedly claimed to be from cryptocurrency companies or police officers.

Police officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit’s Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) forced entry to addresses during extensive enforcement action after simultaneously executing search warrants. They made arrests across Chelmsford, Enfield and south London with the assistance of the City of London Police, Kent Police and the Metropolitan Police Service.

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Ujah, 32, of Gilda Avenue, Enfield, was arrested on 29 April and brought before Margate Magistrates’ Court. He was one of seven suspects bailed to attend the next hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court on 28 May.

The 100m sprinter has not raced for over a year, since April 2025. Ujah served a 22-month doping ban, imposed by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), for unintentional use of prohibited substances.

They found he took inadequate precautions when buying supplements online, which were contaminated and led to a positive test. Ujah, however, was cleared of intentionally doping.

That ban led to Britain being stripped of their silver medal in the 4x100m relay at the Tokyo Olympics as Ujah was the lead-off runner. He returned at the 2024 European Athletics Championships, but did not qualify for the 100m final. He has not raced since April last year.

Ujah was previously part of their relay wins at the 2017 World Championships. The sprinter also helped GB win the European Athletics Championships the year before and after.

Individually, he won 100m gold at the Diamond League in 2017, and also won the same event at the 2013 European Athletics Junior Championships. His international success started with silver medals in the 100m and the 4x100m at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games.

Another suspect, Brandon Mingeli, has also sprinted for Great Britain. The 25-year-old of New London Road, Chelmsford, was remanded in custody.

He represented GB at the 2021 European Under-23 Championships, running the 100m. Mingeli appears not to have competed since the 2023 season, according to his World Athletics profile.

His last recorded result dates back to the Newham & Essex Beagles Summer Series in August 2023. Mingeli finished sixth out of six in final one and the same position in heat three of the extra race.

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