LOS ANGELES (CNS) – L.A. music executive Eugene Henley, also known as “Big U,” was expected to appear in court Thursday — one day after surrendering to federal agents amid allegations he leveraged connections with the South L.A. street gang the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips to run a vast, “mafia-like organization” that committed crimes including murder, trafficking and COVID fraud.
The U.S. Department of Justice said 10 people were arrested early Wednesday after an extensive FBI investigation into an alleged criminal conspiracy, with four others already in state custody and law enforcement seeking five additional defendants.
Henley, 58, and one other suspect, Bryan Mejia, were said to be fugitives Wednesday morning, acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally said. However, the two surrendered Wednesday afternoon, Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, told City News Service.
“Both Henley and Mejia surrendered this afternoon,” Eimiller said in an email Wednesday night. “Henley downtown to agents and Mejia to LAPD. In court tomorrow (Thursday).”
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 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,” McNally said Wednesday.
“Eliminating gangs and organized crime is the Department of Justice’s top priority. Today’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 unsealed Wednesday, 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.
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