CJ Ujah was arrested and charged as part of an alleged cryptocurrency fraud scheme involving an organized crime ring, according to an investigation by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit in the United Kingdom.
Ujah, 32, a double British 100m champion, was among 10 people arrested on April 29 on warrants served in warrants across Kent, Essex and London.
“It is alleged the suspects were part of an organized crime group linked to a scam which involved phone calls to multiple victims, from people purporting to be police officers and cryptocurrency companies,” a notice from a report by the ERSOU announcing the arrests read.
The ERSOU report on Friday claims that the group sought to steal funds from digital wallets by making calls to customers and asking for important information like security questions, including seed phrases that would be later used to transfer money out of the accounts. According to police, one alleged victim lost nearly $410,000 from their digital wallet.
The joint operation to make the arrests included police from Kent Police, City of London Police and The Metropolitan Police Service along with the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit.
One of the other suspects arrested was Brandon Mingeli, who competed for Great Britain in the 100m at the 2021 European U23 Championships.
Ujah served a 22-month doping ban that was backdated to 2021 after two banned drugs were detected in a sample from the 2020 Tokyo Games. At the Olympics, Ujah, ran the lead leg of the men’s 4x100m relay final on a lineup that also included Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake.
Great Britain won silver in a narrow (37.51) win over Italy but was stripped of its medal when it was revealed in September 2021 that both of his drug samples tested positive for S-23 and Enobosarm. Ujah never disputed the findings and the Court of Arbitration for Sport and in October 2022 he was suspended and Canada upgraded to silver and China received bronze.
Ujah last competed in the men’s 200m at the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco, Texas, in May 2025 and ran a 21.20 in qualifying for 14th overall.
