Gang Leader Turned Anti-Gang Activist Arrested By DOJ On Racketeering, Murder Charges

 A leader of a street gang turned anti-gang activist was arrested this week after the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged him in a criminal complaint alleging he led an operation that engaged in various racketeering crimes, including extortion, human trafficking, fraud, and a murder.

Eugene Henley Jr., who led Los Angeles’ Rolling ‘60’s Neighborhood Crips street gang before re-inventing himself as an anti-gang activist, turned himself in after the DOJ filed the criminal complaint.

The DOJ specifically alleges that “Big U Enterprises,” Henley’s criminal group, “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.”

“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 Joseph McNally, the Acting United States Attorney for the Central District of California.

The DOJ alleges that Henley killed an aspiring musician in 2021 after he was signed to a music label run by Henley and another alleged member of the criminal enterprise Mark Martin. When the man recorded a song disparaging Henley, the defendant allegedly shot and killed the musician, identified by the DOJ as R.W.

Henley’s criminal organization also stands accused of defrauding donors and taxpayers through non-profits it controlled, including Developing Options, an anti-gang group. That group, the DOJ says, was used to solicit donations from celebrities, companies, and even the City of Los Angeles’s Mayor’s Office, that were pocketed by Henley.

His music label, meanwhile, allegedly lied about its profitability and submitted a fraudulent COVID-19 pandemic relief loan application.

“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 purportedly rehabilitated original gangsters,” said the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, Akil Davis.

“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,” stated Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office.

Also arrested in the case are Mark Martin and Sylvester Robinson, two men believed to be members of the criminal enterprise. Ten total alleged members were arrested on charges ranging from drug trafficking to racketeering conspiracy.