Anti-gang activist accused of running criminal organization in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Federal officials say a South Los Angeles gang leader and self-proclaimed community activist ran a mafia-like organization.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eugene Henley Jr., 58, aka "Big U" of the South L.A. community of Hyde Park, was part of a "mafia-like" criminal operation, which used Henley's association with the Rollin' 60s street gang.
Henley 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.
Authorities say Henley portrayed himself as an anti-gang activist associated with a charity that was a front for the criminal operation and he received grants from government agencies for the charity, which were then diverted to the criminal enterprise.
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.
Henley and one other person are still wanted and are fugitives.
"Today's arrests are the result of outstanding investigative work by law enforcement partners from LAPD us, Attorney's Office, the FBI and my office, who's worked tirelessly to find the evidence necessary to charge those who are alleged to bring harm to our communities, as you've heard previously, the RICO charges against Mr. Henley and his associates reflect a pattern of crimes that runs a gambit from extortion to robbery to murder to tax fraud and to human trafficking, all under the umbrella of a well organized criminal organization led by Mr. Henley. Additionally, Mr. Henley duped the county of Los Angeles by running a nonprofit named developing options, which was set up to pull youth out of the gang life and promote anti gang solutions. Yet Mr. Henley continue to personally orchestrate violent gang activity that impact our communities. Donors Trust that their donations will be used in a manner that's consistent with what the charity was set up to do and applied as intended. In this case, it was for the benefit of at risk youth financial transactions leave a trail, and IRS Criminal Investigation special agents of the best at following that trail, the trails led to Mr. Henley's allegedly lead to Mr. Henley's personal bank account, and the money trail doesn't lie."
Tyler Hatcher, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation's Los Angeles Field Office
"Henley and the allegations are here, operated a criminal enterprise. He used his status in LA as a gang member, somewhat somebody was known as an enforcer in order to execute the crimes that are described in the criminal complaint as part of that. And to get your question, he also had this charity and held himself out there to be somebody who was committed to reducing gang violence, committed to supporting youth in the city as part of that he received grants from government agencies to do that work, and as we describe in the criminal complaint, he used that good will to benefit himself. He diverted money from that charity and lined his own pockets with it. And that money was ultimately traced, and that we can show that he used it for personal purposes. So there was an embezzlement angle to this, to the criminal enterprise where hundreds of thousands of dollars were siphoned off that should have gone to charitable purposes, gang reduction, gang intervention."
Joseph T. McNally, Acting United States Attorney
Four people named in the complaint were already in custody. 10 more were taken into custody since monday.
