Supreme Felons Inc. · The Ypsilantian

$1.2MPublic ARPA Grant

+56%Violent Crime Increase in Target Zip Codes

$90KCEO Salary (FY2024)

0990 Filings at Incorporation

Supreme Felons Inc. is a Ypsilanti-based nonprofit that received $1.2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from Washtenaw County in July 2022, awarded by unanimous vote of the Board of Commissioners. The stated purpose: reduce violent crime in Ypsilanti's 48197 and 48198 zip codes. Violent crime in those zip codes rose 56% during the grant period. Firearm offenses rose 83%.

Billy Cole — President / CEO Cole was on parole at the time the county signed the $1.2M contract. He is a convicted murderer — he killed an Eastern Michigan University graduate student, who was found bound, gagged, and shot three times, for less than $150. He was serving life plus 60 years before being paroled in 2019. Cole also held simultaneous employment with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office. He paid himself $82,000+ annually from grant funds, rising to $90,456 in FY2024. When presented with crime data showing violent crime up 56% in his target area, Cole's response: "Talk to my lawyer."

Alan Fuqua — Co-Founder Fuqua is a registered sex offender convicted of criminal sexual conduct with a child under 13. He legally incorporated Supreme Felons as a Michigan nonprofit.

Bryan Foley — Vice President Foley is a convicted federal bank robber (BOP #39861-039). He is also a candidate for Ypsilanti Ward 1 City Council in the August 4, 2026 primary, running against incumbent Me'Chelle King. On April 25, 2026, Foley posted a lengthy Facebook defense of Supreme Felons using a University of Michigan impact evaluation as evidence — a report that does not mention Cole's murder conviction, Fuqua's sex offender status, Foley's bank robbery, the IRS revocation, the fabricated grant claims, or the 56% crime increase.

Fabricated Grant Proposal The grant proposal claimed partnerships with Ypsilanti Public Schools and Washtenaw Intermediate School District. Both were confirmed false via FOIA request.

IRS Revocation — County Paid Anyway The IRS revoked Supreme Felons' nonprofit status on May 15, 2023. Washtenaw County continued disbursing funds after the revocation — $559,000 paid in 2023 alone — in apparent violation of the grant contract's own terms. The IRS subsequently reinstated status in August 2023, then the organization failed again.

Lawsuit Against the Press Supreme Felons sued Ann Arbor Independent (A2Indy) to block the release of public records related to the grant. The case proceeded through Michigan courts to the appellate level.

Commissioners Who Voted Yes Every member of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners voted yes: including Justin Hodge, Annie Somerville, Caroline Sanders, and Crystal Lyte — the same four commissioners who appeared at an Ypsilanti Township Board meeting on August 15, 2023 in what the township attorney described as an attempt to intimidate trustees.

In 2026, Foley cited a 73-page University of Michigan impact evaluation as vindication. The evaluation was produced by U of M's Center for Equitable Family and Community Well-Being — paid $1 million by the same county that funded Supreme Felons — to document grant recipients' performance. The report does not contain the words "murder," "sex offender," "bank robbery," "parole," "IRS revocation," "fabricated," or "crime increase." The evaluators measured what Supreme Felons self-reported. They did not verify outputs against external data. They were not auditors or investigators.