Federal prosecutors have unsealed an updated indictment against Eugene Henley, Jr., better known as “Big U,” that added new charges that accuse him of plotting to harm or kill a witness by allegedly trying to hire other inmates to carry out the attack.
Henley, 59, has been in federal custody for more than a year on robbery, tax evasion, wire fraud and conspiracy charges, and the superseding indictment unsealed Thursday morning said he offered money to two inmates to “kill or harm” the witness to prevent them from testifying against Henley or his organization.
Henley and six others were arrested in 2025 and were initially accused of running a criminal enterprise that leveraged his association with the Rollin 60s street gang in order to commit extortion and other crimes, all the while accepting millions of dollars in donations and federal money that flowed through the city of Los Angeles that were supposed to fund an anti-gang charity.
“Mr. Henley maintains his innocence and looks forward to addressing these allegations at trial, where the facts, not headlines, will control,” wrote his defense attorney Peter Johnson.
“We will continue to defend him vigorously and ask that the public respect the presumption of innocence and his right to a fair trial,” he said.
The superseding indictment also accuses Henley of paying a co-defendant in 2022 to transport women across state lines to engage in prostitution and added a charge that Henley submitted a fraudulent Covid-19 disaster loan application that contained false statements about his business Celebrity Socks.
Henley and the others were first charged in March, 2025 when prosecutors announced money intended for the anti-gang organizations “the Ex Offender Fellowship Network” and “Developing Options” had been diverted for Henley’s personal use.
Much of the government funding was delivered via contracts with the City of Los Angeles for gang intervention work, arranged through the Mayor’s Gang Reduction and Youth Development program, known as “GRYD.”
Mayor Karen Bass’ office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the new allegations but said in 2025 that it had “zero tolerance for malfeasance” and promised to increase monitoring of the recipients of GRYD money.
“The City has strict oversight in place, however the complaint alleges a sophisticated effort to thwart oversight for many avenues of funding including the City,” Bass’ office said.