Olympic athlete who lost silver medal arrested for suspected cryptocurrency scam
Professional athletes don’t just focus on their sports careers because they know these won’t last forever. Many plan ahead by investing in other areas or starting new jobs after they retire. Some choose to become coaches or sports commentators, while others go into business or try entirely new careers.
But one former Olympian has found himself in big trouble after picking a different path—he’s been arrested for allegedly taking part in a cryptocurrency fraud.
CJ Ujah, a two-time British 100m champion, has been charged with this crime. At 32, he had a great athletics career, winning several medals. Notably, he ran the first leg of the 4 × 100m relay team that won gold at the 2017 World Championships and silver at the 2020 Olympics alongside teammates Adam Gemili, Danny Talbot, and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake.
Unfortunately, he later lost that Olympic silver after being caught doping. On October 10, 2022, Ujah was banned for 22 months, starting from August 6, 2021, due to unintentional use of banned substances.
He came back to compete after his ban, making it to the 100m semi-finals at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, but hasn’t raced since April last year.
Now, Ujah is one of ten people arrested and charged with conspiracy to defraud after a police investigation in Kent, Essex, and London. The group is suspected of running a scam where victims received phone calls from people pretending to be police officers or representatives of cryptocurrency companies.
These victims were tricked into sharing important security information, like seed phrases, only to find their crypto wallets had been emptied. One victim is said to have lost over £300,000.