LONDON — Former Olympic and world 100-meter champion Maurice Greene has denied claims that he used performance-enhancing drugs.

Greene, who retired this year, was among 12 athletes cited by a witness in a U.S. federal investigation as having been supplied with doping substances, the New York Times reported Saturday.

Greene told Britain's Daily Telegraph in today's editions that he had met with the alleged drug supplier, but did not receive or use any drugs.

"This is a bad situation for me," he was quoted as saying. "My name's coming up in something and it's not true."

Citing court filings, the Times said that Angel Guillermo Heredia agreed to be a cooperating witness when investigators confronted him with evidence of his own drug trafficking and money laundering. The Times reported Heredia said he has provided prosecutors with the names of many elite track athletes and Olympic medal winners, as well as documentation.

Among his clients, Heredia identified 12 Olympic medalists, including Greene, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion.

"This is real messed up," Greene told the Telegraph. "It's an embarrassing situation. I have met him before and when he was talking to me, I told him I don't believe in this stuff.

"I have met with a lot of people who wanted me to try this and that. Everyone wanted me to work with them. But me getting anything or doing anything? I have not.

"My stance has always been that there is no place in our sport for drug users. I have always said that you should be banned for life if you come up positive even once. I stand by that."

Greene said he did used to pay for items for other members of his training group, but didn't know what he was paying for.

"Our group was very close and things always came up," he said. "I would pay for stuff and not care what it was. I've paid for things for other people."

The Times said Heredia showed it a copy of a bank transaction form showing a $10,000 wire transfer from a Maurice Greene to a relative of Heredia's, two sets of blood-test lab reports with Greene's name and age on them and an e-mail message from a close friend and track club teammate of Greene's, attaching one of the lab reports and saying, "Angel, this is maurices results sorry it took so long."