Video After The Jump
LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Alleged Los Angeles gang leader and so-called rap "godfather'' Eugene Henley Jr., known as "Big U,'' was ordered to remain behind bars Thursday pending a detention hearing in federal court at the end of the month.
Henley, charged in a federal complaint alleging an array of racketeering crimes, including extortion, human trafficking, fraud and the 2021 murder of an aspiring rap musician, surrendered to law enforcement Wednesday as investigators fanned out to find him.
A magistrate judge ordered him to remain in federal custody at least until his detention hearing in downtown L.A. on March 31. His arraignment was scheduled for April 8. No plea was taken at Henley's initial court appearance Thursday.
Prior to turning himself in, the self-described anti-gang activist from the South L.A. community of Hyde Park, posted videos on Instagram denying the accusations.
"I'm looking at all these charges in the news,'' he said. "I'm heading back to LA. Ain't going to be no real evidence. 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.
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 - 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.
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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