Manhunt On For Music Exec, Anti-Gang Activist Who Ran Murderous Gang Empire: DOJ

LOS ANGELES, CA — A Los Angeles music executive and celebrated anti-gang activist known as "Big U" is a fugitive wanted for running a vast Crips-linked "mafia-like organization" that committed murder, trafficking and COVID fraud, the FBI announced Wednesday.

The allegations made against Eugene Henley, aka "Big U" were announced at a Los Angeles press conference following the Wednesday morning arrests of multiple people allegedly linked to a South Los Angeles street gang the Rollin' 60s Neighborhood Crips conspiracy, according to the United States Department of Justice.

Henley and another suspect, Bryan Mejia, were said to be fugitives.

Henley, of Hyde Park, has been charged in a federal complaint under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act., alleging he ran a criminal enterprise that committed a series of racketeering crimes, including extortion, human trafficking, fraud, and the 2021 murder of an aspiring rap musician.

Federal officers on Wednesday also arrested Sylvester Robinson, 59, a.k.a. “Vey,” of Northridge, and Mark Martin, 50, a.k.a. “Bear Claw,” of the Beverlywood area of Los Angeles in connection with the alleged conspiracy.

“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,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally. “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."

Over the last 24 hours, authorities arrested 10 alleged Rollin’ 60s members and associates who are charged with various federal crimes, including drug trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and firearms offenses.

Police are seeking five other suspects in connection with the case.

“The lead defendant and others in this 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,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office.

According to an affidavit unsealed Wednesday, Henley’s criminal group, identified in court documents as the “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, prosecutors allege.

The crimes Big U Enterprise and Rollin’s 60s committed, the affidavit alleges, include murder, extortion, robbery, trafficking and exploiting sex workers, fraud, and illegal gambling.

Prosecutors allege Henley himself was the trigger man in the murder of an aspiring musician identified as "R.W" in the affidavit. The rapper was signed to Uneek Music, Henley and Martin’s music label.

"Shortly before R.W.’s murder, Henley and Uneek Music paid for R.W. to travel to Las Vegas to record music at a Grammy Award-winning music producer’s studio," the Justice Department announced in a written statement. "But R.W. did not record at the agreed-upon rate and instead recorded a defamatory song about Henley, causing Henley and Robinson to travel to Las Vegas to confront him. Henley allegedly drove R.W. to North Las Vegas, shot him in the head, and dragged the victim’s body off Interstate 15 into the desert and left it in a ditch."

According to prosecutors, Henley returned to Los Angeles with Robinson and ordered studio workers to leave while his associate removed security surveillance footage from the studio and later ordered witnesses to not speak with law enforcement about R.W.’s murder.

Prosecutors outlined a sophisticated social media and public relations campaign in connection with the violence and intimidation.

"Not only did the enterprise expand its power through violence, fear, and intimidation, but it also used social media platforms, documentaries, podcasts, interviews, and Henley’s reputation and status as an “O.G.” (original gangster) to create fame for – and stoke fear of – the Big U Enterprise, its members, and its associates," according to the Justice Department.

Prosecutors accuse Henley of committing COVID-19 relief fraud and defrauding donors to nonprofit entities under the control of the Big U Enterprise, including Henley’s charity, Developing Options, a Hyde Park-based nonprofit.

Henley marketed Developing Options as giving South Los Angeles youth alternative choices to gang violence, drugs, and other criminal activity. But the Big U Enterprise allegedly used it as a front for fraudulent purposes and to insulate its members from suspicion by law enforcement, prosecutors contend.

The affidavit further accuses Henley of embezzling large donations that celebrities and award-winning companies made to Developing Options.

According to the complaint, Developing Options is primarily funded through the City of Los Angeles’s Mayor’s Office through the Gang Reduction Youth Development (GRYD) Foundation, portions of which receive federal funding, but also receives donations from prominent sources, including NBA players.

“The RICO charges against Mr. Henley and his associates reflect a pattern of crimes that runs the gambit from extortion to tax evasion, all under the umbrella of a well-organized criminal organization led by Mr. Henley,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office. “Additionally, Mr. Henley allegedly duped the County of Los Angeles by running a charitable organization that promoted anti-gang solutions while continuing criminal activity that was directly contrary to his charity. IRS-CI is proud to partner with fellow law enforcement organizations to investigate these criminal organizations to protect our communities from further harm.”

If convicted, Henley could face life in federal prison. Robinson and Martin could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.