Eugene “Big U” Henley Jr., a community activist turned Federal Bureau of Prisons informant, once enjoyed reverence in the neighborhoods where he did business. The Los Angeles-based figure long celebrated for his anti-violence advocacy was said by prosecutors to have been operating a violent criminal syndicate behind the scenes. Filed on March 27 and unsealed on Thursday, the sweeping 43-count federal indictment charges Big U with racketeering, murder, wire fraud, extortion, and the like.
For over a decade, Henley cultivated a public persona as a leader dedicated to guiding at-risk youth out of gang life. But federal authorities now allege that was a disguise for what they’re referring to as the “Big U Enterprise.” The network was said to have committed actions from murder and fraud to all sorts of intimidation from as far back as 2010 through early 2025, the entire time Henley presented himself as an advocate for the community.
The allegations in the complaint unsealed today expose a criminal enterprise engaged in murder, extortion, human trafficking, and fraud, all run by a self-proclaimed anti-gang activist and would-be music entrepreneur who was nothing more than a violent street criminal,” U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally said in a statement.
The indictment’s most serious allegations center on Henley’s alleged involvement in the 2021 killing of an aspiring rapper who went by only R.W. Prosecutors say the killing was designed to silence a rival and cement Henley’s grip on his dominion on the streets.
And Henley also used his position in the Rollin’ 60s street gang and as a former public official to influence financial crimes, authorities said. He has been accused of scamming high-profile entertainers and athletes, diverting millions of dollars from charitable donations for local community programs, and even embezzling federal COVID-19 relief money.
The indictment also charges Henley with embezzling funds from his nonprofit, Developing Options, and misappropriating funds allocated to his organization by the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office, which were earmarked for key local anti-violence initiatives.
Henley’s criminal enterprise flourished in part because Henley had longstanding ties to the Rollin’ 60s gang, one of L.A.’s most infamous street gangs, the affidavit states. Federal documents say he was a prodigy who “came to prominence” in the gang in the 1980s and later used that reputation to gain power, ostensibly by illicit means.
Henley has been held in federal custody since March 19 and is scheduled for arraignment on April 8. The indictment lists six others, suggesting a wider network under his command.
Henley was charged, and before surrendering himself to authorities, he posted to Instagram denying all the allegations, which he said were unjust and racially motivated.
“I ain’t done nothing but help our community,” Henley said. “This is the price we have to pay for being Black trying to help somebody, trying to help your community and do what you can. You just guilty ’cause somebody else don’t like you.”
As the case progresses, many wonder whether Big U was the community leader he professed to be or whether federal prosecutors have revealed someone with a very different double life, one based on power, manipulation, and control.
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