EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — A federal grand jury has returned a 43-count indictment charging a music label owner and purported anti-gang activist who is a longtime leader of a South Los Angeles street gang.

The felonies include fraud, robbery, extortion, tax evasion, embezzlement of donations to his charity that receives public money, and running a racketeering conspiracy in which he allegedly murdered an aspiring musician, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

Eugene "Big U" Henley Jr., 58, of the Hyde Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, is charged with:

  • one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO
  • two counts of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and extortion
  • one count of Hobbs Act robbery, nine counts of attempted Hobbs Act extortion
  • five counts of Hobbs Act extortion, one count of transportation of an individual in interstate commerce with intent that the individual engage in prostitution 
  • Fifteen counts of wire fraud, five counts of embezzlement, conversion and intentional misapplication of funds from an organization receiving federal funds
  • one count of bank fraud
  • one count of tax evasion
  • two counts of willful failure to file a tax return

Henley — a longtime member of the Rollin' 60s Neighborhood Crips street gang — has been in federal custody since March 19 after being charged in a federal criminal complaint. His arraignment is scheduled for April 8 in the United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. He has a detention hearing scheduled for April 10, also in LA federal court.

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Also charged in Thursday's indictment are:

  • Sylvester "Vey" Robinson, 59, of Northridge
  • Mark "Bear Claw" Martin, 50 of the Beverlywood area of Los Angeles
  • Termaine “Luce Cannon” Ashley Williams, 42, of Las Vegas
  • Armani "Mani" Aflleje, 38, of Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles
  • Fredrick Blanton Jr., 43, of South Los Angeles
  • Tiffany Shanrika Hines, 51, of Yorba Linda

The defendants are in federal custody and are expected to be arraigned in the coming weeks.

“As the indictment alleges, Mr. Henley led a criminal enterprise whose conduct ranged from murder to sophisticated fraud that included stealing from taxpayers and a charity,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally said. “Eradicating gangs and organized crime is the Department of Justice's top priority. Today's charges against the leadership of this criminal outfit will make our neighborhoods in Los Angeles safer.”

According to the indictment returned Wednesday, from 2010 until March 2025, Henley’s criminal group — identified in court documents as the “Big U Enterprise” — operated as a mafia-like organization that used Henley’s stature and long-standing association with the Rollin’ 60s and other street gangs to intimidate businesses and individuals in LA.

Henley is widely regarded as a leader within the Rollin’ 60s and rose to prominence in the street gang during the 1980s.