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A BRITISH sprinter has been charged with ten others over his alleged involvement in a cryptocurrency scam.
CJ Ujah, 32, who won 4x100m relay gold at the 2017 world championships, was held as part of a large-scale police investigation.
The suspects were allegedly part of an organised crime group linked to a scam in which victims are called by people pretending to be police officers and cryptocurrency companies.
One person was said to have lost £300,000 in the alleged fraud, the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) said.
Ujah appeared at Thanet Magistrates’ Court on April 30 charged with conspiracy to defraud.
He will next appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on May 28 alongside nine other defendants.
Brandon Mingeli, who represented Great Britain in the 100m at the 2021 European U23 Championships, is also one of the ten suspects.
ROCU were assisted by Kent Police, City of London Police and The Metropolitan Police.
Police said victims were tricked into sharing important security details before discovering funds in their crypto wallets had been stolen.
Ujah was part of the British men’s 4x100m gold medal winning quartet that beat the US at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London.
He was banned for 22 months after testing positive for two prohibited substances at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The violation saw the British men’s 4x100m quartet stripped of its Olympic silver medal but Ujah was later cleared of doping intentionally.
He returned to racing with GB in the 2024 world relays but has not raced since.
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