UK crypto fraud charges: Ten people were charged with conspiracy to defraud in a United Kingdom case alleging cryptocurrency impersonation and extraction of private wallet recovery details, including seed phrases. Coordinated raids took place on April 29 across Kent, Essex, London and Wakefield, and all ten suspects appeared in court on April 30. Three of the defendants remained in custody until May 28, while seven were released on bail.
In a sophisticated cryptocurrency fraud operation, victims were targeted through impersonation scams designed to trick them into revealing critical private wallet recovery details, including seed phrases. By masquerading as legitimate entities, the fraudsters persuaded victims to share information that enabled unauthorized access to their cryptocurrency wallets. This method allowed the suspects to steal significant amounts of cryptocurrency, with one victim reportedly losing over £300,000.
Such scams are increasingly using social engineering and phishing tactics to deceive individuals into voluntary disclosure of sensitive information. A report by Scam Sniffer highlighted that nearly 4,700 wallets were compromised through signature phishing in January, underscoring the growing prevalence of these techniques.
The police have issued warnings emphasizing that legitimate authorities or companies will never request seed phrases or access to cold storage devices unexpectedly. These warnings aim to alert the public to typical red flags of crypto-related scams and to discourage them from sharing personal security information.
CJ Ujah is named among the ten people charged with conspiracy to defraud in the United Kingdom case alleging cryptocurrency impersonation and the extraction of private wallet recovery details, including seed phrases. The allegations state victims were tricked into sharing seed phrases and other private wallet recovery information, which the suspects allegedly used to access and remove cryptocurrency from victims’ wallets. He is charged alongside nine other suspects in that investigation.
Ujah is a British sprinter who helped Great Britain win 4x100m relay gold at the 2017 World Championships. He received a 22-month ban after a positive test at the Tokyo Olympics that was attributed to contaminated supplements. He returned to competition in 2024 and has not recorded any races since April 2025.
In April, Elon Musk’s platform X rolled out features aimed at stopping crypto-related crimes. These changes were reported alongside police investigations into a case in which coordinated raids took place on April 29 across Kent, Essex, London and Wakefield. The reporting referenced Regional Organized Crime Units (ROCUs) in connection with police activity and investigations. All ten suspects in the case appeared in court on April 30, with three remaining in custody until May 28 and seven released on bail. Police warnings accompanying the reporting reiterated that legitimate authorities will not ask for seed phrases or access to cold storage devices unexpectedly.
Authorities continue efforts to address cryptocurrency fraud in the UK, including coordinated raids on April 29 and prosecutions of ten people charged with conspiracy to defraud, among them CJ Ujah. Police continue to warn the public not to share wallet seed phrases or to provide unexpected access to cold storage devices.
