DOJ Busts Rollin’ 60s Crips, Charge Big U in Sweeping RICO Case

Eugene Henley Jr., AKA Big U — an ex-manager of Nipsey Hussle and a founding member of Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips street gang — is now charged in a federal RICO complaint that includes allegations of murder, human trafficking and extortion.

“Big U” of the South LA community of Hyde Park, was part of a “mafia-like” criminal operation identified in court documents as Big U Enterprise, which benefitted from Henley’s association with the Rollin’ 60s street gang, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Henley, an executive producer on the six-part FX series “Hip Hop Uncovered” who is considered a wanted fugitive, is accused in the federal complaint of running a criminal enterprise that committed a series of racketeering crimes, including extortion, human trafficking, fraud, and the 2021 murder of an aspiring rap musician, the Justice Department said.

Henley, who has nearly 300,000 followers on Instagram, portrayed himself as an anti-gang activist associated with a charity that was a front for the criminal operation, authorities said. Henley received grants from government agencies for the charity, which were then diverted to the criminal enterprise, according to authorities.

“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.

Henley is charged in the complaint with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

Arrest warrants were executed Tuesday morning in connection with the investigation. Four people named in the complaint were already in custody. Ten more were taken into custody since Monday.

Video from NewsChopper4 showed some of the people under arrest at a processing center set up outside the Federal Building in Los Angeles.

Henley is among five people sought in the investigation, but three of those individuals were expected to be in custody shortly, the DOJ said Wednesday morning.

Henley rose up the ranks of the South LA gang during the 1980s, but since then became a high-profile entertainment entrepreneur and self-proclaimed activist who was a regular on online talk shows and podcasts, authorities said.

“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,” the DOJ said in a news release.

The criminal group at the center of the DOJ investigation has been operating since at least 2010.

Donors, including celebrities and athletes, were defrauded by nonprofits under the Big U Enterprise umbrella, including Henley’s Developing Options charity, authorities said. The Hyde Park-based charity was marketed as a youth program to divert kids away from gangs, 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, the DOJ said in a statement. “Henley allegedly embezzled large donations that celebrities and award-winning companies made to Developing Options, which Henley immediately converted to his personal bank account.”

The criminal complaint also claims famous athletes, including NBA players, were persuaded to donate money to the charity.

The criminal complaint indicated that Developing Options is primarily funded through the City of Los Angeles’ Mayor’s Office through the Gang Reduction Youth Development (GRYD) Foundation.

“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. “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.”

In January 2021, Henley killed an aspiring musician signed to Uneek Music, Henley’s music label, the DOJ said. Henley and Uneek Music paid the victim to travel to Las Vegas to record music at a Grammy Award-winning music producer’s studio, investigators said.

The victim, identified in court documents as RW, did not record at an agreed-upon rate and recorded a song that was defamatory about Henley, who then drove the victim to North Las Vegas, shot him in the head, and left his body in a ditch off Interstate 15, according to authorities.

via: 4 NBC Los Angeles

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