Adrien Broner stands accused of stealing millions of dollars from two high-profile NBA players from bets placed with loaded dice.
The former four-time world boxing champion was named in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act [RICO] case against Eugene’ Big U’ Henley.
After Henley turned himself in to authorities, Broner’s name appeared in the indictment. Broner, known for his love of gambling and dice games, played high-stakes games with multi-millionaire sports stars but didn’t play fair, according to the information sent to Worldboxingnews.com on Friday morning.
Although Broner has not been indicted himself, he’s named as A.B. [a professional boxer] throughout the document.
Henley, a known leader of the LA Rolling 60s Crips, tops the charges, which see Broner and 19 other members of the Rollin 60s Crips named in racketeering, murder, and other charges.
Broner’s involvement stems from a June 2019 dice game, just five months after he earned a multi-million dollar paycheck against Manny Pacquiao. Broner lost to Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in January, taking home a seven-figure purse from the defeat.
Adrien Broner dice games
However, according to the indictment, Broner used cheating methods to win money from basketball stars with ‘teased dice’ in a gambling ring.
After pocketing the cash, Broner’s life was in danger as Henley, according to FBI agent Andrew Roosa. Henley ordered some of his henchmen to ‘rough up’ Broner and get the money back on behalf of the cheated NBA players. There’s no evidence that Broner was harmed, although he didn’t fight again for another eighteen months.
According to the CW-1 complaint, Broner was involved “because he was involved in and/or would approve of any large buy-in dice game or similar events, such as parties, involving large sums of money and prominent NBA players and celebrities.” Henley attended.
Discussing his involvement with Broner, Henley stated he ‘got into it’ with ‘The Problem’ after he took $1.5 million from a current NBA All-Star and $5m from another former NBA All-Star [total of $6.5m]. Henley added that he charged those robbed $100,000 to try to get the money back from Broner.
The parties had so much money involved that Henley would supply extra security at a cost. But the indictment did not suggest that Henley was involved in Broner’s scam.
Investigation
Discussing the charges against Henley, Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher of the IRS Criminal Investigation Los Angeles Field Office said, “The RICO charges against Mr. Henley, and his associates reflect a pattern of crimes that runs the gambit from extortion to tax evasion, all under the umbrella of a well-organized criminal organization led by Mr. Henley,
“Additionally, 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.
“IRS-CI is proud to partner with fellow law enforcement organizations to investigate these criminal organizations to protect our communities from further harm.”
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell added, “From day one, the Los Angeles Police Department has been proud to work with the FBI on this critical investigation.
“The invaluable expertise provided by the Operations South Bureau FBI Task Force on the Rollin’ 60’s criminal street gang has played a pivotal role in securing these charges.
“This is a major step forward in our ongoing fight against gang violence, and it brings hope and relief to a community that has endured far too much. Together, we will continue to protect and serve, working tirelessly to ensure the safety of our neighborhoods.”
Adrien Broner faces no charges.
Sign up for the WBN Newsletter for free and get daily news directly in your email. Never miss a story.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010.
