Kincheloe man involved in windmill fraud scheme pleads guilty

An Upper Peninsula man involved in multiple fraud incidents could spend up to fifteen years in prison.

Billy Parish, 57, of Kincheloe, pled guilty to one count of larceny by conversion over $20,000 as habitual offender, second offense in Delta County Circuit Court.  Parish had a number of other counts against him, but was bound to circuit court on the one count.

The fraud incidents happened throughout Delta County from May-November 2011, amounting to nearly $100,000 and affecting 45 victims across the U.P.   Police say the scheme involved asking homeowners for money to purchase electric windmills.  Parish would take a down payment of $2,000 and partially complete the work.

Parish was on the run from police for nearly three years before police arrested him in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in December 2013.

He is still lodged in the Delta County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond and is scheduled for sentencing June 3.