Alleged Los Angeles gang kingpin and so-called rap godfather Eugene Henley Jr., known as “Big U,” was ordered Tuesday to remain behind bars while awaiting trial on allegations of racketeering, fraud, extortion and embezzlement.
Henley, 58, was also allegedly linked to the 2021 killing of an aspiring rapper in Las Vegas, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
A 43-count indictment filed last month in Los Angeles federal court charges Henley with a single count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, along with multiple counts of robbery, extortion, wire fraud and embezzlement, among other crimes.
U.S. Magistrate Judge A. Joel Richlin on Tuesday heard arguments for and against Henley’s release from pretrial detention. Prosecutors successfully argued that the defendant would present a threat to the community, the victims and witnesses if allowed to go free. Efforts to reach Henley’s attorney were unsuccessful.
Prosecutors wrote in court papers that for decades, Henley “has put on a public facade, masquerading as a reformed gang member and legitimate businessman whose only ambition was to better his community. But defendant wasn’t helping Crenshaw. He was helping himself.”
In their argument for pretrial detention, prosecutors wrote that Henley was “secretly operating as kingpin of a criminal enterprise that has ruled Los Angeles through violence, fear, and intimidation. Now, he seeks pretrial release under the guise of his `reformed’ persona even though his criminal activities have included murder, extortion, robbery, wire fraud, bank fraud, and human trafficking. The court should see through defendant’s farce and keep him in custody for the safety of the community.”
A pretrial conference is scheduled for May 9 in downtown Los Angeles.
Before he surrendered to authorities, the self-described anti-gang activist from the South L.A. community of Hyde Park posted videos on Instagram denying any wrongdoing.
“Ain’t going to be no real evidence,” Henley posted. “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.
Six others allegedly linked to the case were also arrested.
Federal prosecutors contend Henley killed Las Vegas rapper Rayshawn Williams in January 2021, saying the victim — who had been signed by Henley’s Uneek Music record label — had recorded a defamatory song about the rap entrepreneur. Henley allegedly killed him “then dragged the victim’s body off Interstate 15 in Las Vegas and left it in a ditch,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Henley is also accused of defrauding famous athletes, including Basketball Hall of Famer and former Lakers center 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.
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.
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.”
Henley 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. He 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 could face a sentence of hundreds of years in prison, prosecutors noted.