British sprinters Chijindu Ujah and Brandon Mingeli among those charged in crypto fraud investigation
British sprinter Chijindu Andre Ujah, also known as CJ Ujah, and his compatriot Brandon Mingeli have been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud as part of a police investigation into an alleged crypto fraud in the United Kingdom. According to an announcement by the Regional Organised Crime Unit Network, the British network of regional units for combating organised crime, a total of ten people were arrested after coordinated searches in Kent, Essex and London. Police state that the suspects are linked to an organised crime group which, according to the allegations in the investigation, contacted multiple victims by telephone while posing as police or as representatives of cryptocurrency companies. According to the police statement, the victims were induced to reveal sensitive security information, including so-called seed phrase expressions, after which they discovered that funds from their crypto wallets had been stolen. One person, according to the same source, allegedly lost more than 300,000 pounds.
The case has attracted additional public attention because two athletes from the British athletics scene are among those charged. Ujah is a former world champion in the 4x100-metre relay with the Great Britain team from 2017, while Mingeli represented Great Britain in the 100 metres at the 2021 European Under-23 Championships. According to the available information, the charges relate to criminal proceedings that are at an early stage, and the police allegations still have to be examined before a court. In legal terms, all those charged are considered innocent unless any guilt is proven in the proceedings.
Searches carried out early in the morning at multiple addresses
According to a statement by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit, the police operation was carried out on Wednesday, 29 April 2026, when officers simultaneously executed several search warrants at 6 a.m. The operation covered addresses in Chelmsford, Enfield and south London, and police state that Kent Police, City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police Service also took part in its execution. Additional support was provided by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit, whose officers, according to the announcement, detained one suspect at an address in Wakefield. All those arrested, ERSOU states, were charged after questioning and brought before a court within 24 hours.
The ten defendants appeared on Thursday, 30 April 2026, before Margate Magistrates’ Court. Police announced that Brandon Mingeli, Jami Durston-McDonnel and Louis Richards-Miller were remanded in custody until the next hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court, scheduled for 28 May 2026. Seven other defendants were released on bail until the same hearing, including Chijindu Andre Ujah. In addition to the athletes, the statement also named the other defendants: Joseph Umoru, Adedeji Kujore, Abdul-Azeem Taiwo Adeola Yusuf, Abdul-Azeez Kehinde Adeolu Yusuf, Jayden Nakayama and Samantha Gyabaa. Police have not yet released a more detailed description of the roles attributed to the individual defendants.
Police claim victims were induced to reveal seed phrase expressions
At the centre of the investigation is an alleged fraud connected with cryptocurrencies and digital wallets. According to the ROCU announcement, victims received telephone calls from people who presented themselves as police officers or as employees of cryptocurrency companies. This form of fraud relies on creating a sense of urgency and trust: victims are often told that their account has been compromised, that urgent verification is needed or that they must take steps to protect their assets. Police state that in this case people were induced to reveal important security information, including a seed phrase, after which the funds from their crypto wallets disappeared.
A seed phrase is a sequence of words that serves as a key for accessing a crypto wallet and for recovering funds if a user loses a device or application. That is precisely why this information has exceptionally high security value: a person who obtains a seed phrase can generally take control of the digital wallet. In advice published alongside the statement, British police emphasise that police will never unexpectedly call citizens about their cryptoassets or request access to cryptocurrency storage devices. The same advice also states that no legitimate company or police officer will ask for a seed phrase, which is one of the key signs of possible fraud.
Ujah's sporting career marked by a world title and an earlier suspension
Chijindu Ujah, a 32-year-old sprinter from Enfield, is widely known to the sporting public for his appearance in the British 4x100-metre relay team that won gold at the 2017 World Championships in London. According to The Guardian and sports records, Ujah ran the first leg in the final in which the British relay team won in front of the home crowd, in a race also remembered as Usain Bolt's last appearance on the major stage. That same year Ujah also won the 100-metre race in the Diamond League final, and according to the competition profile his personal best in the 100 metres is 9.96 seconds.
His career was later also marked by an anti-doping case after the Tokyo Olympic Games. The Athletics Integrity Unit announced in 2022 that Ujah had been suspended for 22 months, from 6 August 2021 to 5 June 2023, after a positive test for the banned substances ostarine and S-23. According to the AIU statement, the procedure ended with a finding that the athlete had committed an anti-doping rule violation, but it was also stated that the case was connected with a contaminated dietary supplement. Because of that finding, the British 4x100-metre relay team was stripped of its silver medal from the Tokyo Olympic Games, which Team GB also confirmed in its athlete profile.
After the suspension expired, Ujah returned to competition. The Guardian states that at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome he reached the semi-finals of the 100-metre race, but that, according to available sports records, he has not competed since April 2025. In the context of the new criminal proceedings, his earlier sporting results have no legal significance for the charge itself, but they explain why the case has attracted attention beyond sections that follow crime and justice. Ujah is among the seven defendants whom the magistrates’ court allowed to await the next hearing at liberty on bail.
Mingeli remanded in custody until the hearing at the Crown Court
Brandon Mingeli, a 25-year-old sprinter, is the second athlete mentioned in the police statement. According to World Athletics data, Mingeli competed in the 60- and 100-metre events, and his personal best in the 100 metres is 10.18 seconds, achieved in 2022. British Athletics stated in its report from the 2021 European Under-23 Championships in Tallinn that Mingeli competed for the British team in the 100 metres and reached the final after the qualifying races. In the current criminal case, police announced that Mingeli, together with two other defendants, was remanded in custody until the hearing before Chelmsford Crown Court on 28 May 2026.
Remand in custody at this stage of the proceedings does not mean a verdict or proof of guilt. It is a procedural decision by the court, while the charges still have to be considered in the further proceedings. According to the available information from the police announcement, all defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, but no details have been publicly released that would separate the alleged actions of individual persons. For that reason, reporting on the case for now can refer to charges and police allegations, not to established facts about criminal responsibility.
Crypto frauds increasingly use impersonation and pressure on victims
The investigation fits into a wider pattern of frauds in which perpetrators exploit insufficient understanding of technology, but also trust in institutions. In cases connected with cryptocurrencies, fake calls from police, banks or investment platforms often have the same aim: obtaining information that enables the takeover of an account or wallet. The British fraud reporting centre Action Fraud regularly warns citizens not to share passwords, security codes and other access details with people who contact them unexpectedly. In the context of cryptoassets, a seed phrase is especially sensitive because revealing it can enable an irreversible transfer of funds.
In advice directly connected with this case, police list several precautionary rules. If someone presents themselves by telephone as the police and claims that a crypto wallet has been compromised, citizens are advised to verify the call themselves by calling the official 101 number, preferably after several minutes or from another telephone. They are also warned not to click links sent in unwanted messages or during calls. It is especially emphasised that passwords and security phrases should not be entered or shared outside the official process of setting up or recovering a wallet on one's own device. Such advice is also important for people who are not professional investors, because digital assets can be targeted even when smaller amounts are involved.
The next step is the hearing on 28 May
The further course of the proceedings is expected before Chelmsford Crown Court, where the hearing is scheduled for 28 May 2026. According to police, three defendants remain in custody until then, while seven have been released on bail. At this stage, not all the evidence on which the charge is based is publicly known, nor have defence statements by the individual defendants been published. The court proceedings should clarify the scope of the alleged fraud, the roles of the people who have been charged and the amount of damage that the prosecution will attempt to prove.
At the same time, the case shows how criminal proceedings connected with digital assets increasingly overlap with classic forms of fraud. Although the public often talks about technically complex attacks on crypto systems, police allegations in this case point to a different mechanism: telephone impersonation, psychological pressure and exploitation of trust. That is precisely why British police emphasise in the statement a simple rule that applies regardless of the type of wallet or platform: a seed phrase is not shared with anyone, not even with people who claim to come from the police or from a cryptocurrency company.
Sources:
- Regional Organised Crime Unit Network / ERSOU – official statement on the arrests, charges, course of the police operation and advice for preventing crypto frauds (link)
- The Guardian – report on the charges against Chijindu Ujah and Brandon Mingeli and the sporting context of the case (link)
- Athletics Integrity Unit – statement on Ujah's anti-doping suspension from 2022 (link)
- Team GB – profile of Chijindu Ujah and information on his Olympic appearance and the stripping of the medal after an anti-doping rule violation (link)
- World Athletics – profile of Brandon Mingeli and official sporting results (link)
- British Athletics – report from the 2021 European Under-23 Championships with information on Mingeli's appearance (link)