LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Alleged Los Angeles gang leader and so-called rap “godfather” Eugene Henley Jr., known as “Big U,” was ordered to remain behind bars Thursday pending a detention hearing in federal court at the end of the month.
Henley, charged in a federal complaint alleging an array of racketeering crimes, including extortion, human trafficking, fraud and the 2021 murder of an aspiring rap musician, surrendered to law enforcement Wednesday as investigators fanned out to find him.
A magistrate judge ordered him to remain in federal custody at least until his detention hearing in downtown L.A. on March 31. His arraignment was scheduled for April 8. No plea was taken at Henley’s initial court appearance Thursday.
Prior to turning himself in, the self-described anti-gang activist from the South L.A. community of Hyde Park, posted videos on Instagram denying the accusations.
“I’m looking at all these charges in the news,” he said. “I’m heading back to LA. Ain’t going to be no real evidence. Ain’t going to be no real nothing … Now, they’re saying all that stuff to assassinate my character.”
According to federal prosecutors, Henley is a leader of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips and runs a vast, “mafia-like” organization that has committed crimes including murder, trafficking and COVID fraud.
Henley’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
The U.S. Department of Justice said more than a dozen others are in custody linked to the case and law enforcement are seeking additional defendants.
Henley, 58, and co-defendant Bryan Mejia were considered fugitives early Wednesday, but the two surrendered later that day, said Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Los Angeles field office.
Henley is charged in the complaint with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Authorities also accuse Henley, the founder of Big U Enterprise, with murdering a young Las Vegas rapper, Rayshawn Williams, in January 2021.
The criminal complaint further claims that Henley defrauded famous athletes, including Basketball Hall of Famer and former Laker Shaquille O’Neal and Golden State Warriors four-time all-star forward Draymond Green by persuading them to donate money to charity — cash that he allegedly pocketed himself.
In addition, Henley is accused of fraudulently obtaining funding from the Gang Reduction and Youth Development program supervised by the L.A. Mayor’s Office.
Two other alleged members of the criminal enterprise — Sylvester Robinson, 59, of Northridge, and Mark Martin, 50, of the Beverlywood area of Los Angeles — were arrested Wednesday on the same criminal complaint in which Henley is charged.
“The allegations in the complaint unsealed today reveal a criminal enterprise that engaged in murder, extortion, human trafficking, and fraud — all led by a supposed anti-gang activist and purported music entrepreneur who was nothing more than a violent street criminal,” U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally said.
“Eliminating gangs and organized crime is the Department of Justice’s top priority. (Wednesday’s) charges and arrests target the leadership of this criminal outfit and will make the neighborhoods of Los Angeles safer. I am grateful for the work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners.”
According to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, from 2010 to the present, Henley’s Big U Enterprise “operated as a mafia-like organization that utilized Henley’s stature and long-standing association with the Rollin’ 60s and other street gangs to intimidate businesses and individuals in Los Angeles. Henley is widely regarded as a leader within the Rollin’ 60s and rose to prominence in the street gang during the 1980s.”
Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said Henley and the others in the case “have for too long gotten away with violent acts and stealing money from taxpayers and well-intentioned donors whether they use intimidation tactics or wield influence as rehabilitated original gangsters. The FBI and our partners have worked for four years to bring justice in this case and will continue to rule out this kind of criminal behavior plaguing the streets of Los Angeles.”
Henley runs the Los Angeles music promotion company Uneek Music. He was instrumental in launching the career of the late Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was shot to death in South Los Angeles in 2019.
Authorities also allege Henley submitted a fraudulent application for a COVID-19 pandemic relief loan in which he claimed that Uneek Music was operating at a $200,000 profit in 2019 despite operating at a $5,000 loss that year, which should have disqualified it from loan eligibility.
Henley served 13 years in prison for trying to steal cocaine from an undercover sheriff’s deputy in 1991. His son, Daiyan Henley, is a linebacker entering his second season with the Los Angeles Chargers.
If convicted, Henley would face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison, authorities said. Robinson and Martin would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Recent Comments