Big U, alleged Los Angeles gang leader pleads not guilty
An alleged longtime Los Angeles gang leader, known as Big U, pleaded not guilty in a downtown courthouse Tuesday to charges contained in a 43-count federal indictment, including racketeering, fraud, extortion, and embezzlement.
Eugene Henley Jr., the so-called rap "godfather," surrendered to authorities last month in connection with a federal complaint that also linked him to the 2021 killing of an aspiring rapper in Las Vegas.
According to federal prosecutors, Henley is a leader of the Hyde Park-based Rollin' 60s Neighborhood Crips and runs a vast, "mafia-like" organization that has committed crimes such as murder, trafficking and COVID fraud. Six other people allegedly linked to the case were also arrested.
The 58-year-old's charges
include a single count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, along with multiple counts of robbery, extortion, wire fraud and embezzlement, among other charges.
Prosecutors accuse Henley of killing Las Vegas rapper Rayshawn Williams in Jan. 2021, saying the victim, who had been signed by Henley's Uneek Music record label, had recorded a defamatory song about Henley.
Henley allegedly killed him, "then dragged the victim's body off Interstate 15 in Las Vegas and left it in a ditch," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Henley is also accused of defrauding famous athletes, including former Laker Shaquille O'Neal, by persuading them to donate money to charity, then allegedly pocketing the funds himself.
He is also accused of fraudulently obtaining funding from the Gang Reduction and Youth Development program supervised by the L.A. Mayor's Office.
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.
Henley 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.
If convicted, Henley could face a sentence of hundreds of years in prison, prosecutors said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Clifton lawyer sentenced to 21 months for COVID-19 relief fraud
A Clifton lawyer was sentenced to nearly two years in prison for fraudulently receiving over $300,000 in COVID-19 relief funds, according to a June 9 release from the U.S Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Morton Chirnomas, 62, was charged with wire fraud in February of 2023 and pleaded guilty to the charge in November of the same year. The attorney allegedly attained $150,000 through a COVID-19 relief program known as "COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans." The money was received between May and September of 2020. Chirnomas was additionally accused of obtaining $200,000 in unemployment insurance benefits using the names and identities of other people without their permission. State news: Bill targets NJ's worst nursing homes with new penalties U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced Chirnomas will serve 21 months in prison with three years' supervised release. The Passaic County attorney had his law license suspended in June of 2023, according to court documents. This article originally appeared on Clifton NJ lawyer sentenced over COVID-19 relief fraud
San Francisco Chronicle
27 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Leaders of ‘orgasmic meditation' women's wellness company OneTaste convicted in forced labor trial
NEW YORK (AP) — The leaders of a sex-focused women's wellness company that promoted 'orgasmic meditation' have been convicted of federal forced labor charges. A Brooklyn jury on Monday found Nicole Daedone, founder of OneTaste Inc., and Rachel Cherwitz, the California-based company's former sales director, guilty of forced labor conspiracy after deliberating for less than two days following a roughly monthlong trial. Daedone's defense team had cast her as a 'ceiling-shattering feminist entrepreneur' who created a unique business around women's sexuality and empowerment. But prosecutors argued the two women ran a yearslong scheme that groomed adherents — many of them victims of sexual trauma — to do their bidding. They said Daedone and Cherwitz used economic, sexual and psychological abuse, intimidation and indoctrination to force OneTaste members into sexual acts they found uncomfortable or repulsive, such as having sex with prospective investors or clients. The two told followers the questionable acts were necessary in order to obtain 'freedom' and 'enlightenment' and demonstrate their commitment to the organization's principles. Prosecutors said OneTaste leaders also didn't pay promised earnings to the members-turned-workers and even forced some of them to take out new credit cards to continue taking the company's courses. OneTaste started in San Francisco around 2005 as a sort of self-help commune that viewed female orgasms as key to sexual and psychological wellness and interpersonal connection. A centerpiece was 'orgasmic meditation,' carried out by men manually stimulating women in a group setting. The company quickly opened outposts from Los Angeles to London following glowing media coverage in the 2010s. At the time, OneTaste was portrayed as a cutting-edge enterprise that prioritized women's sexual pleasure. But Daedone sold her stake in 2017 — a year before OneTaste's marketing and labor practices came under scrutiny. The company's current owners, who have rebranded it the Institute of OM Foundation, have said its work has been misconstrued and the charges against its former executives were unjustified.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Unlikely Heroes Former Anti-Trafficking CEO Files Federal Motion to Stop "Hostile Takeover" of Victim Charity by Billionaire-Linked Foundation
LOS ANGELES, June 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a federal court filing that is raising concerns among nonprofit and survivor advocacy experts, Erica Greve, founder and former CEO of Unlikely Heroes, has filed an emergency motion to halt the proposed sale of estate assets—including confidential survivor records, donor files, and the organization's name, likeness, and mission—to a private foundation connected to a billionaire whose previous lawsuit allegedly resulted in the nonprofit's bankruptcy petition. The motion alleges that Human Investment Foundation (HIF), a Texas-based foundation founded by philanthropist Janet Jensen, former Unlikely Heroes donor and member of Women Moving Millions, is now poised to acquire the very nonprofit it spent years litigating against. HIF has no record of trauma-informed services, yet seeks to take over the nonprofit's identity and gain access to private records of children who experienced severe trauma and received services through Unlikely Heroes' programs. "These are not just documents," said Greve. "They are the medical, psychological, educational, and legal records of children who endured significant trauma. You don't sell that. You protect it with everything you have." Now, HIF could cause the unredacted files of those girls, including their asylum records, safe house addresses, photos and therapy documentation, to be transferred without consent, redaction, or oversight. "This is not just a nonprofit being sold," Greve said. "It risks undermining the trust placed in us by survivors. The very foundation whose lawsuit led to our closure is now trying to wear our name, use our channels, and access our children's deepest traumas while presenting itself as a philanthropic initiative." The motion further alleges that Trustee Sandra McBeth, who is overseeing the Chapter 7 liquidation, failed to provide legally required notice to the California Attorney General's Charitable Trusts Section, in violation of Government Code § 12598 and federal fiduciary obligations. Greve contends this has enabled a rushed and opaque foundation sale to an entity with alleged competing interests and no demonstrated qualifications to handle survivor care. In a further breach, the motion states that formal legal objections submitted by Hon. F. Whitten Peters, former U.S. Secretary of the Air Force and legal counsel for five survivors, were never filed with the Court by the Trustee or her Counsel, prompting concerns about proper court procedure and oversight of due process and legal ethics. Granting the motion would authorize HIF to operate under the Unlikely Heroes brand, initiate direct engagement with survivors, and potentially collect confidential information from trafficking victims under a false nonprofit identity. "This isn't about me," Greve said. "This is about the safety, dignity, and identities of survivors. These children trusted us with their stories, and I will not stand by while that trust is auctioned off." Greve requests that the Court stay the sale, appoint an independent examiner, and refer the matter to the California Attorney General for investigation. She also seeks a court-supervised accounting of donor-restricted funds, which may have been deposited after the nonprofit filed for bankruptcy, in potential violation of standard post-petition procedures. To date, Greve has personally incurred over $500,000 in legal fees defending the nonprofit, its survivors, and the principle that a child's trauma should never be treated as a transferable asset. "This case draws a hard line between protecting survivors and permitting the exploitation of their pain. No court should allow a child's story to be treated as commodities within an organizational transaction." About Unlikely HeroesFounded in 2011, Unlikely Heroes is a nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing and restoring child survivors of sex trafficking. The organization has provided long-term housing, trauma-informed therapy, education, and medical care to more than 400 children across the United States, Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand and Nigeria. Among those served were five Nigerian girls who escaped the 2014 Boko Haram kidnapping in Chibok, Nigeria – an event that sparked the global #BringBackOurGirls movement. These survivors were brought to safety in the United States under the legal guardianship of Unlikely Heroes' founder Erica Greve, with the full consent of their families and the U.S. government. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Unlikely Heroes Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
