British olympic sprinter CJ Ujah denies role in alleged cryptocurrency fraud

British sprinter and Olympian CJ Ujah has denied playing a part in an alleged cryptocurrency fraud.

The athlete, who competed at the 2016 and 2021 Olympic Games, appeared among nine others before Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday.

The group are accused of being part of an organised crime group linked to a scam.

The scam was said to have involved phone calls to multiple victims from people purporting to be police officers and cryptocurrency companies.

Victims are reported to have been tricked into sharing important security details before discovering funds stored in their crypto wallets had been stolen.

One of the victims is alleged to have lost more than £300,000.

A series of co-ordinated search warrants were carried out across Kent, Essex and London on April 29 as part of an investigation by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU).

Ujah, whose name appeared in the court list as Chijindu Ujah and eight other defendants pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

Another defendant, Joseph Umoru, will enter his plea at a later date.

A 12-week trial was set for Chelmsford Crown Court from May 24 next year.

The next court hearing will be held at the same court on September 9.

One of the other defendants, Brandon Mingeli, denied a further count of converting criminal property.

Mingeli pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a false identity document.

Ujah, 32, of Enfield, north London, became only the fifth Briton to break the 10-second barrier for the 100 metres, running 9.96 seconds in 2014.

He won 4x100m relay gold at the world championships in London in 2017.

At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he raced in the 4x100m final but tested positive for two banned substances, which led to his team being stripped of their silver medal.

He was subsequently cleared of intentionally taking prohibited substances.

The other defendants are 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, Kehinde Yusuf, 24, Jayden Nakayama, 25 – all from Greenwich; Samantha Gyabaa, 23, of Hackney, east London; and Jami Durston, 28, of Chelmsford, Essex.