British sprinter and two-time Olympian CJ Ujah has denied any role in an alleged organised cryptocurrency fraud after appearing in court this week.
Ujah — listed in court as Chijindu Ujah — was one of ten people who appeared before Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday accused of conspiring to defraud. Prosecutors say the group formed part of an organised crime network that targeted crypto holders using social-engineering phone scams. Victims were allegedly cold-called by people posing as police officers and representatives of cryptocurrency firms, tricked into revealing security details, and later found funds missing from their crypto wallets. One victim is reported to have lost more than £300,000.
The Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) carried out coordinated search warrants on April 29 across Kent, Essex and London as part of the investigation. Ujah and eight co-defendants pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to defraud; a ninth defendant, Joseph Umoru, will enter his plea at a later date. Chelmsford Crown Court has set a 12-week trial to begin on May 24 next year, with the next procedural hearing scheduled for September 9.
One of the other defendants, Brandon Mingeli, denied an additional charge of converting criminal property but has pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a false identity document.
Ujah, 32, of Enfield, north London, is best known for his sprinting achievements: he broke the 10-second barrier for the 100m in 2014 with a 9.96s run — making him only the fifth Briton at the time to do so — and was part of Britain’s 4x100m relay world championship gold team in London in 2017. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 he ran in the 4x100m final but subsequently tested positive for two banned substances; the team were stripped of their silver medals. Ujah was later cleared of intentionally ingesting prohibited substances.
The full list of defendants named in court is:
- Brandon Mingeli, 25, of Thamesmead, south-east London
- Louis Richards-Miller, 24, of Greenwich, south-east London
- Joseph Umoru, 24, of Abbey Wood, south-east London
- Adedeji Kujore, 24, of Erith, Kent
- Taiwo Yusuf, 24, of Greenwich
- Kehinde Yusuf, 24, of Greenwich
- Jayden Nakayama, 25, of Greenwich
- Samantha Gyabaa, 23, of Hackney, east London
- Jami Durston, 28, of Chelmsford, Essex
- Chijindu (CJ) Ujah, 32, of Enfield, north London
For crypto users, the allegations highlight a common and dangerous tactic known as “vishing” (voice phishing), where fraudsters impersonate trusted institutions to extract private keys, passwords, or 2FA codes. Best practices remain crucial: never share seed phrases or private keys, independently verify unexpected calls from anyone claiming to be law enforcement or an exchange, use hardware wallets where possible, and employ strong account security measures such as app-based 2FA rather than SMS.
All defendants currently deny wrongdoing; the allegations will be tested at trial next year.
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