Latest news with #ChristyAkeo
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan couple jailed for a month in Mexico fly home
The Brief The Michigan couple jailed in Mexico over a timeshare dispute have returned to the U.S. They were locked away for a month due to allegations that they had failed to pay for a timeshare, charges that were eventually dismissed Congressman Tom Barrett flew to Mexico to ensure the Akeos made it back to Michgan (FOX 2) - The couple that had traveled to Mexico in hopes of vacationing before getting jailed amid a timeshare dispute have returned to the U.S. Paul and Christy Akeo spent a month behind bars, despite claiming they owed nothing for the property. Big picture view After weeks behind bars in a foreign jail, the Akeos are finally home. Paul and Christy Akeo had originally flown to Mexico for a vacation in Cancun. Instead they spent a month in jail amid a dispute with a hospitality company over a timeshare they're accused of not paying for. The Michigan couple were ushered home with the help of Congressman Tom Barrett, who flew to the country this week in hopes of getting them stateside. Dig deeper Their daughter Lindsey Hull spoke to FOX 2 in late March about her incarcerated parents, pleading with officials to help rescue them. "We need help from our government. We need them to realize there are two innocent Americans held hostage in a Mexican prison over a timeshare dispute," she said at the time. Both Paul and Christy were jailed on March 4 on allegations of criminal fraud. They were locked up in a maximum security prison. Both the parents and Barrett returned home late April 3. Barrett said he walked through part of the facility, adding it was where "no person would want to be detained." "No American should have to go through that, especially under the conditions that they were in for the amount of time that they were," he said Thursday night. What they're saying Paul Akeo described the conditions they were in as miserable. "We were sent directly to prison. We weren't able to talk to anybody, didn't have any contact with lawyers, didn't have our phones so we were just sitting there," he said. As for Christy Akeo, she's just happy to be home to get clean. "I'm going to go take a shower. There were no showers there," she said. "And if you could take a shower, it was cold." The Source Previous reporting and interviews with Paul and Christy Akeo, and U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett
USA Today
04-04-2025
- USA Today
US tourists held in maximum security Mexico prison freed, return home
US tourists held in maximum security Mexico prison freed, return home Show Caption Hide Caption FBI issues tips for travelers going abroad for spring break The FBI's Los Angeles field office issued tips to Americans traveling abroad for spring break, urging travelers to stay safe. Paul and Christy Akeo were released from a Mexican prison after 32 days, following allegations of defrauding a hospitality company. The couple's arrest stemmed from a timeshare contract dispute with The Palace Company, which they claim involved undelivered services. As part of the resolution, the disputed amount of $116,587.84 will be donated to a Mexican charity for orphans. Two American tourists who were held in a Cancun, Mexico, prison have been released, their attorneys said. Paul and Christy Akeo returned to Lansing, Michigan, after 32 days, according to a news release from the law firm Manly, Stewart & Finaldi. Prosecutors in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo had alleged the couple defrauded a hospitality company by canceling nearly $117,000 in credit card transactions. The arrest stemmed from a timeshare contract dispute with The Palace Company. The Akeos' family maintained they were wrongly accused of fraud. The couple's children, Lindsey Lemke Hull and Michael Lemke, thanked President Donald Trump, U.S. special envoy Adam Boehler and Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., 'for working tirelessly for the release of Paul and Christy Akeo' in a statement from the family on Thursday. Barrett visited the maximum security prison where the Akeos were being held, he said in a post on X on Wednesday. 'I met with them personally for an hour and learned of the horrific conditions they are facing – rubbled walls, overcrowded cells, toilets that don't flush, and disgusting food,' he wrote. 'This has left them scared, frustrated, and struggling to find hope. I assured them that I am doing everything I can to urgently secure their safe release.' The lawmaker later posted a video on X on Thursday night showing him boarding a plane with the couple. Palace and the Akeos 'agreed to a resolution of their dispute,' the company told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. 'The Palace Company and the Akeos agree that $116,587.84, the amount that was contested by the Akeos and refunded to them by American Express, will be donated to a bona fide established nonprofit in Mexico benefiting orphan children,' the company said. 'Each party regrets that this incident occurred.' A judge validated the agreement and dismissed the criminal case, the Quintana Roo Attorney General's office said. "The Prosecutor's Office reiterates its commitment to justice and social welfare, acting in accordance with the law to ensure repair for damages and respect for the rights of all parties involved," prosecutors said in a translated Facebook post. The couple's attorney, John Manly, said late last month that the Akeos disputed the charges with the credit card company after Palace failed 'to deliver services," including canceling booked weeks without notice. Palace told USA TODAY at the time that the pair's weeks were canceled because they violated their membership terms 'after promoting and profiting from their benefits on social media.' The Akeos were notified of the breach, the company said, and later disputed the charges. Manly said the couple believed they were allowed to market and sell some of their weeks to third parties. He also accused Palace of demanding $250,000 and that the Akeos sign a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for their release, among other conditions. 'No American should be held hostage to the demands of a private company anywhere in the world,' Hull and Lemke said in their statement Thursday. 'Paul and Christy are under the care of physicians and therapists to be treated for illnesses and trauma inflicted upon them during their captivity. We ask that their privacy be respected as they rest and heal.' Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Michigan couple back home from Mexican prison
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Michigan couple Paul and Christy Akeo, who spent almost a month behind bars in a maximum-security prison in Mexico, are now back stateside. Their return to Michigan comes after a Thursday court hearing in which the court ruled that the Akeos were to be released from custody. The Akeos and U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett say they are no longer facing charges, and the entire case against them has been dropped. The pair was initially arrested on March 4 at an airport in Cancún on fraud allegations. They were accused of defrauding resort chain Palace Elite out of more than $116,000 by breaching a timeshare contract and illegally cancelling membership charges to an American Express credit card. Nexstar's WLNS spoke with Michael Lemke, the Akeos' son, who said his parents could have been held for up to six months, as a judge had previously given the company that much time to gather evidence. The Akeos' release comes a day after Barrett visited the couple in prison. Barrett told WLNS he also spoke with the president of the Quintana Roo Supreme Court to work on getting the couple released. 'We are so happy that it's over,' said Christy Akeo. Mexico celebrates dodging latest US tariffs but feels the effects of global economic uncertainty Paul Akeo shared what happened after police arrested the couple on March 4th. 'We were whisked off to another facility and then we were sent directly to prison. We weren't able to talk to anybody, didn't have any contact with lawyers, didn't have our phones, so we were just sitting there,' said Paul. The two say days went by before they could talk to their family or even each other. Now, they're sharing what their time spent inside a maximum security prison in Mexico was like. 'It's awful. It's nothing like you would ever want to go through, it's unbelievable. The language barrier is unreal,' said Christy Akeo. Barrett, too, shared what he saw in the prison when he visited the couple in Mexico. 'I walked through part of the interior of the prison, and it was enough for me to see that no person would want to be detained there, no American should have to go through that, especially under the conditions they were in for the amount of time that they were,' the congressman said. Barrett said he met with Mexican officials, who arranged a hearing Thursday. That's when the charges against the Akeos were dropped. 'There were some things that were getting a little uncertain at the end and we were able to resolve those quickly, took a lot of effort from all parties involved,' said Rep. Barrett. The congressman added that every level of both the United States and Mexican governments were involved in this conversation, including President Donald Trump. 'The president was very excited to hear this and expressed his excitement and welcomed them back to America,' Congressman Barrett said. Rally and court hearing set for Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador prison Christy Akeo said now that the couple is home, the first thing she is going to do is take a shower. 'Be thankful for what America has given us,' Paul Akeo said. 'And just be thankful for the little things.' Thursday evening, WLNS received a statement from the Akeo children, saying: 'The Akeo family wishes to thank President Donald J. Trump, his Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler and Congressman Tom Barrett (R-Lansing) for working tirelessly for the release of Paul and Christy Akeo. We also want to express our deepest gratitude to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mark Coolidge Johnson, Charge d 'Affaires, U.S. Embassy Mission Mexico and his dedicated team. Through four straight weeks of fear and uncertainty, Congressman Barrett's commitment to bringing our parents' home safely provided us with hope and reassurance. He traveled to Cancun at great personal risk, camped out at the prison and made it clear that he would not return home without them. His heroic efforts as a veteran represent the finest traditions of our nation's military to never leave an American behind. No American should be held hostage to the demands of a private company anywhere in the world. Paul and Christy are under the care of physicians and therapists to be treated for illnesses and trauma inflicted upon them during their captivity. We ask that their privacy be respected as they rest and heal. The family will have much more to say about this ordeal in the coming days.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Michigan Couple Returns to U.S. After Being Held in Mexico Prison for a Month Following Dispute with Timeshare Resort
A Michigan couple has returned to the U.S. after being held in a Mexico prison following a dispute with The Palace Company Paul and Christy Akeo have reportedly reached an agreement with the resorts company after it accused the pair of defrauding them of over $100,000 Congressman Tom Barrett, representing Michigan's 7th district, traveled to Mexico and shared a clip on X showing the couple boarding a plane to head back home on Thursday, April 3 A Michigan couple is now back in the U.S. after being held in a Mexican jail for a month following a dispute with a timeshare company. As previously reported by PEOPLE, Paul and Christy Akeo were held in a prison after being arrested while traveling to Cancún on March 4, the couple's daughter claimed in a March 24 Facebook post. In a previous statement, the Attorney General of Quintana Roo state alleged Christy had gone on Facebook to "spread the word" about having "committed fraud" against The Palace Company after her husband canceled 13 transactions totaling nearly $117,000. In a Thursday, April 3 statement, the Attorney General then said that the couple had reached an agreement with the resorts company, which had resulted in the pair's "immediate release" back to the U.S. The Palace Company confirmed in a statement that the parties had "agreed to a resolution of their dispute," noting that the $116,587.84 back-charged to the Akeos' American Express card would be "donated to a bona fide established nonprofit in Mexico benefiting orphan children." "Each party regrets that this incident occurred," the company wrote. Congressman Tom Barrett, representing Michigan's 7th district, shared a video on X showing the Akeos boarding a plane to return home, writing, "Paul and Christy Akeo are coming home. Mission accomplished." Paul and Christy Akeo are coming home. Mission accomplished. 🇺🇸 — Congressman Tom Barrett (@RepTomBarrett) April 4, 2025 The Akeos' law firm confirmed the couple, of Spring Arbor, had been "released from custody and [had] returned to Lansing, Michigan," per a statement obtained by PEOPLE. The couple have made it safely home, attorney Stu Mollrich confirmed to PEOPLE. "No American should be held hostage to the demands of a private company anywhere in the world," Christy's children Michael and Lindsey said in a statement through their lawyer. "Paul and Christy are under the care of physicians and therapists to be treated for illnesses and trauma inflicted upon them during their captivity," the children continued. "We ask that their privacy be respected as they rest and heal. The family will have much more to say about this ordeal in the coming days,' Mollrich told PEOPLE last month that his clients had a membership with Florida-based company Palace Elite Resorts — which has multiple locations in Mexico — and argued the company "breached their contact and failed to provide the goods and services they had been charged for." The Akeos had purchased a timeshare membership with Palace for $6,923 per month for a period of 11 years in 2021, Mollrich said, but after flagging the alleged breach to American Express, the couple had $116,587.84 kicked back to their card. Christy would later become moderator of a Facebook group full of former Palace guests disgruntled by the company's "heavy-handed and deceptive business practices," Mollrich said. In March, the couple traveled back to Cancún and were arrested upon arrival at the airport, the attorney noted. The Palace Company said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE on March 27 that criminal proceedings were underway against the Akeos "following a multi-year pattern of serious contractual violations and deliberate fraud during and after their membership in Palace Elite." Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Following the couple's release, the Akeo family said that Congressman Tom Barrett had traveled to Mexico "camped out at the prison and made it clear that he would not return home without them," per NBC News. After landing in Cancun this morning, I traveled directly to the maximum security prison where Paul and Christy Akeo are being held. I met with them personally for an hour and learned of the horrific conditions they are facing — rubbled walls, overcrowded cells, toilets that… — Congressman Tom Barrett (@RepTomBarrett) April 2, 2025 "Through four straight weeks of fear and uncertainty, Congressman Barrett's commitment to bringing our parents home safely provided us with hope and reassurance," the family added, according to the outlet, as well as thanking President Donald Trump and others "for working tirelessly" to make sure the Akeos were released. A PR firm representing The Palace Company and the Akeos' law firm didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
US tourists held in maximum security Mexico prison freed, return home
Two American tourists who were held in a Cancun, Mexico, prison have been released, their attorneys said. Paul and Christy Akeo returned to Lansing, Michigan, after 32 days, according to a news release from the law firm Manly, Stewart & Finaldi. Prosecutors in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo had alleged the couple defrauded a hospitality company by canceling nearly $117,000 in credit card transactions. The arrest stemmed from a timeshare contract dispute with The Palace Company. The Akeos' family maintained they were wrongly accused of fraud. The couple's children, Lindsey Lemke Hull and Michael Lemke, thanked President Donald Trump, U.S. special envoy Adam Boehler and Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., 'for working tirelessly for the release of Paul and Christy Akeo' in a statement from the family on Thursday. Barrett visited the maximum security prison where the Akeos were being held, he said in a post on X on Wednesday. 'I met with them personally for an hour and learned of the horrific conditions they are facing – rubbled walls, overcrowded cells, toilets that don't flush, and disgusting food,' he wrote. 'This has left them scared, frustrated, and struggling to find hope. I assured them that I am doing everything I can to urgently secure their safe release.' The lawmaker later posted a video on X on Thursday night showing him boarding a plane with the couple. Palace and the Akeos 'agreed to a resolution of their dispute,' the company told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. 'The Palace Company and the Akeos agree that $116,587.84, the amount that was contested by the Akeos and refunded to them by American Express, will be donated to a bona fide established nonprofit in Mexico benefiting orphan children,' the company said. 'Each party regrets that this incident occurred.' A judge validated the agreement and dismissed the criminal case, the Quintana Roo Attorney General's office said. "The Prosecutor's Office reiterates its commitment to justice and social welfare, acting in accordance with the law to ensure repair for damages and respect for the rights of all parties involved," prosecutors said in a translated Facebook post. The couple's attorney, John Manly, said late last month that the Akeos disputed the charges with the credit card company after Palace failed 'to deliver services," including canceling booked weeks without notice. Palace told USA TODAY at the time that the pair's weeks were canceled because they violated their membership terms 'after promoting and profiting from their benefits on social media.' The Akeos were notified of the breach, the company said, and later disputed the charges. Manly said the couple believed they were allowed to market and sell some of their weeks to third parties. He also accused Palace of demanding $250,000 and that the Akeos sign a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for their release, among other conditions. 'No American should be held hostage to the demands of a private company anywhere in the world,' Hull and Lemke said in their statement Thursday. 'Paul and Christy are under the care of physicians and therapists to be treated for illnesses and trauma inflicted upon them during their captivity. We ask that their privacy be respected as they rest and heal.' Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US couple returns home after 32 days in maximum security Mexico prison
