Olympic Sprinter Can't Outrun Charges in UK Crypto Fraud Investigation

In brief

• British sprinter CJ Ujah was among 10 men charged in a U.K. cryptocurrency fraud investigation.
• Police allege victims were tricked into sharing wallet seed phrases during impersonation calls.
• Authorities say one victim lost more than £300,000 in the alleged scheme.

British sprinter CJ Ujah has been charged in the U.K. for his alleged role in a cryptocurrency fraud operation that police say targeted victims through impersonation scams designed to steal funds from crypto wallets. On Thursday, the U.K. Regional Organized Crime Units (ROCUs) said 10 people were charged with conspiracy to defraud following coordinated raids across Kent, Essex, London, and Wakefield on April 29. “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,” the agency said in a statement. Police said victims were tricked into sharing seed phrases and other private wallet recovery details before discovering their cryptocurrency had been stolen. While UK authorities did not mention which crypto assets were stolen, one victim allegedly lost more than £300,000.

 Seed phrases function as recovery keys for many cryptocurrency wallets. Anyone with access to the phrase can restore the wallet and transfer its funds, making them a frequent target in phishing and impersonation scams. All 10 suspects appeared in court on April 30. Three people, including British athlete Brandon Mingeli, were kept in custody until their next court hearing on May 28. The other seven suspects, including Ujah, were released on bail. Ujah rose to prominence helping Great Britain win 4x100-meter relay gold at the 2017 World Championships in what became Usain Bolt’s final race. He later received a 22-month ban after testing positive for prohibited substances at the Tokyo Olympics, costing the team its relay silver medal. Athletics authorities later ruled that contaminated supplements caused the failed test. He returned to competition in 2024, but has not raced since April 2025.

Crypto scams have increasingly shifted toward social engineering and phishing schemes that trick victims into voluntarily giving up wallet access or transferring funds. Blockchain security firm Scam Sniffer said nearly 4,700 wallets were drained through signature phishing attacks in January alone. In April, Elon Musk’s X rolled out new features aimed at stopping crypto-related crimes on the site. U.K. Police warned citizens to be careful of unexpected calls or messages asking for wallet information. “Police will never call you unexpectedly about your crypto or ask you to access your cold storage devices—this is a big red flag,” authorities wrote. “No legitimate company or police officer will ever ask for your seed phrase.”