Latest news with #PaulAkeo
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Washington Post
Michigan couple sues resort company after Mexican prison ordeal over timeshare dispute
DETROIT — A Michigan couple held for 32 days in a maximum-security Mexican prison without trial over a dispute with a luxury timeshare company has filed a lawsuit against the company and its chief executive. Paul and Christy Akeo of Lansing allege defamation, malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress in the complaint filed last week in Florida. They are seeking unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Michigan couple held in Mexican jail for a month over a timeshare dispute say the judicial system was weaponized against them
A Michigan couple held in a Mexican jail for a month over a timeshare dispute at a Cancun resort claim the judicial system was weaponized against them. Paul, a Navy veteran, and Christy Akeo were released in early April after being arrested soon after their plane touched down in Cancun in early March. They allege Palace Resorts LLC began a 'secret lawfare campaign' against them after they disputed more than $100,000 in credit card charges, according to a lawsuit filed by the couple in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court on Friday. The New York Post, which first reported on the lawsuit, said the couple had bought timeshares for the resorts' Cancun location starting in 2016. The couple were 'wholesale customers' and would resell the resort bookings to others, according to the lawsuit. The terms of the Akeos' agreement with Palace Resorts changed in November 2021, and after, the resort claimed the couple 'breached their membership,' the suit says. The resort later went back on bookings the Akeos had set up for others, so the couple successfully disputed the credit card charges since the 'product or services had not been received,' according to the suit. Everything came to a head this past March when the couple was arrested by Mexican authorities at the Cancun International Airport after the resort accused them of 'fraudulently' disputing the credit card charges, court documents obtained by The Independent show. The couple spent a month in a maximum security prison in Quintana Roo, separate from each other, where they slept 'alongside drug dealers and violent criminals,' according to the documents. The conditions in the prison were deplorable, with 'no working shower and no flushable toilet,' the Akeos alleged. Lindsay Hull, Christy's daughter and Paul's stepdaughter, told the New York Post her mom lost 25 pounds in her first two weeks in prison because the food she was given had fish in it, even though she told the prison she was allergic. The couple was eventually taken to court and told by their lawyer and Michigan Congressman Tom Barrett, who went to Mexico to help get them home, they needed to sign a settlement that included a non-disclosure agreement to get out of prison, according to court documents. 'Palace Resorts coerced the Akeos under duress to affix their signatures' on the agreement, while next to men carrying machine guns, the Akeos claim. 'It's not fair that my parents are not able to speak about their story,' Hull told the New York Post. 'They deserve to advocate for themselves.' The resort has rejected the Akeos' claims through attorney David Orta, who said, per the New York Post, that his client will 'defend against them and otherwise take appropriate legal action to enforce the Palace Company's rights.' 'Mr. and Mrs. Akeo have unfortunately proceeded with additional litigation against the Palace Company and affiliated entities and individuals in violation of the parties' resolution of their disputes,' Orta said.
Reuters
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Michigan couple held in Cancun freed and on plane home, US hostage negotiator says
WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) - A Michigan couple, Christy and Paul Akeo, arrested March 4 in Cancun, Mexico, in a credit card dispute, have been freed and were on a plane home, U.S. hostage negotiator Adam Boehler told Reuters on Thursday. "They are in the plane right now" on a chartered flight to Michigan, Boehler said. They were accompanied by Michigan Republican Representative Tom Barrett.
CNN
27-03-2025
- CNN
A Michigan couple traveled to Mexico for vacation. They ended up in prison over timeshare payments
A Michigan couple's payment dispute with a timeshare company has landed them in a Mexican prison, accused of defrauding a hospitality company, according to Mexican prosecutors. The couple's family says the allegations against them are false and are calling on the United States government to intervene. Paul Akeo, a 58-year-old Navy veteran, and his wife Christy, 60, traveled from their home in Spring Arbor on March 4 to the resort city of Cancun expecting a care-free vacation. They ended up getting stopped by authorities soon after their plane landed, according to their family. Lindsey Hull told CNN her parents were taken into custody and told arrests warrants had been issued for them in Mexico after a criminal complaint was filed by 'The Palace Company' alleging fraud. 'We're assuming it has something to do with the timeshare with Palace Resorts,' she recalled her stepfather telling her in a call the day of the arrest. Prosecutors in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, where Cancun is located, allege in a March 15 statement that the couple canceled 13 credit card payments to a hotel chain totaling more than $116,500 in 2022. Though prosecutors did not elaborate on possible evidence, they said the activity constitutes fraud. The case stems from a 2021 timeshare agreement between the Akeos and Palace Elite – a subsidiary of The Palace Company, a hospitality business, Akeo family attorney John Manly told CNN. Through their attorneys, the Akeos claim that a few months into their timeshare contract, Palace failed to provide the services that were promised and the couple subsequently filed a complaint with their credit card company seeking a refund of nearly $117,000 in Palace payments. The couple argued that the resort company breached their contract. 'The Akeos are being held because they successfully disputed Palace' [sic] charges and failure to deliver services with American Express, criticized the Company on Facebook and alerted others who felt wronged by Palace,' Manly said in a statement. Prosecutors have alleged Christy Akeo went on Facebook 'to inform how said fraud was committed against the hotel chain.' Manly said the company was retaliating against the couple for challenging the charges. A spokesperson for The Palace Company told CNN in a statement that they filed a complaint with Mexican authorities after the Akeos 'fraudulently disputed legitimate credit card charges and publicly encouraged others to do the same.' 'Mexican prosecutors reviewed the evidence and, following failed attempts to serve notice, obtained a court-approved arrest warrant,' the company stated. Hull maintains her family received no notice that she is aware of and said her mother did take to social media to share her negative experience with fellow Palace patrons. However, she's baffled at why social media activity may have contributed to the arrest. 'My mom was very clear about that in this Facebook group where people were seeking information on what to do when you get in these memberships,' Hull said. 'If there's 8,000 people dealing with the same thing, and the same disappointments with Palace Resorts, and how they treat their members, maybe you should look in the mirror and make a change.' A Mexican judge ordered the couple detained pending the ongoing proceedings, according to local prosecutors. The Akeo family is now pleading for help from Washington to get the couple out of detention. Michigan Rep. Tom Barrett wrote on X that he has spoken to his constituent's family and is working to 'ensure the situation is resolved as urgently and safely as possible.' The US State Department told CNN it's 'aware of reports of the detention of two U.S. citizens in Mexico' but declined to offer specifics. The couple is being 'held captive in a hell hole of a Mexican maximum-security prison,' Manly said in a statement to CNN. 'The urgency is beyond important because we have no idea what is happening to them at any time. Their lives are in danger. Their health is declining. We need to get these people home,' says Hull, referring to her parents. 'We just don't have another option. They're not going to be sitting in prison indefinitely.' Paul Akeo is a 21-year Navy veteran who currently works as an engineer with the Michigan State Police, according to Manly. His wife, Christy, is a grandmother and small business owner. 'You've imprisoned a highly decorated U.S. Navy veteran, a first responder and a grandmother because they dared to call out your timeshare clients' well-documented deceptive practices and abuse of its customers,' Manly wrote in a March 21 letter to The Palace Company's lawyer. In the letter, Manly claimed the company is extorting the couple and their family and retaliating against them for challenging 'fraudulent and unlawful charges' and then posting about their experience on social media. 'Put plainly, in retaliation, your clients have captured, kidnapped, battered, assaulted, falsely imprisoned, threatened, intimidated, belittled, harassed, libeled and engaged in a course of such horrific and outrageous civil and criminal conduct against these two elderly Americans that is almost incomprehensible,' Manly wrote. Manly warned in the letter that the case could have negative consequences for tourism in the region. The couple's arrest has left at least one other couple wary of travel to Mexico. Jenn Bartko, 52, said she and her husband don't plan to go to Mexico anytime soon out of fear that they'll be arrested after seeing what happened to the Akeos. Similar to the Akeos, her credit card company refunded her $8,355 from the Palace Elite Resorts just last week, Bartko told CNN. 'I just want more people to be aware of the scam, and this company needs to be stopped,' Bartko said. 'It's just not fair for people who are going to have a good vacation and our vacation was completely ruined by this experience.' Bartko said she and her husband put down a deposit for a Palace Elite membership while staying at the Moon Palace Cancun in mid-January, but soon learned that many of the promised membership deals didn't exist and found negative reviews online, she said. Though they were still within the five-day grace period, staff refused to give them a full refund and they waited until they were back home in San Diego to dispute the charges with their credit card company, Bartko said. Bartko said they looped PROFECO, Mexico's consumer protection agency, into their case. The Palace Company did not respond to CNN's request for comment on the more than 100 complaints against it made with the consumer protection agency. 'We will not be going to Mexico for a while which is sad because we're right by the Mexican border. We love Mexico,' Bartko said. 'I'm not willing to try to find out because I don't want to get stuck in a Mexican prison.'
CNN
27-03-2025
- CNN
A Michigan couple traveled to Mexico for vacation. They ended up in prison over timeshare payments
A Michigan couple's payment dispute with a timeshare company has landed them in a Mexican prison, accused of defrauding a hospitality company, according to Mexican prosecutors. The couple's family says the allegations against them are false and are calling on the United States government to intervene. Paul Akeo, a 58-year-old Navy veteran, and his wife Christy, 60, traveled from their home in Spring Arbor on March 4 to the resort city of Cancun expecting a care-free vacation. They ended up getting stopped by authorities soon after their plane landed, according to their family. Lindsey Hull told CNN her parents were taken into custody and told arrests warrants had been issued for them in Mexico after a criminal complaint was filed by 'The Palace Company' alleging fraud. 'We're assuming it has something to do with the timeshare with Palace Resorts,' she recalled her stepfather telling her in a call the day of the arrest. Prosecutors in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, where Cancun is located, allege in a March 15 statement that the couple canceled 13 credit card payments to a hotel chain totaling more than $116,500 in 2022. Though prosecutors did not elaborate on possible evidence, they said the activity constitutes fraud. The case stems from a 2021 timeshare agreement between the Akeos and Palace Elite – a subsidiary of The Palace Company, a hospitality business, Akeo family attorney John Manly told CNN. Through their attorneys, the Akeos claim that a few months into their timeshare contract, Palace failed to provide the services that were promised and the couple subsequently filed a complaint with their credit card company seeking a refund of nearly $117,000 in Palace payments. The couple argued that the resort company breached their contract. 'The Akeos are being held because they successfully disputed Palace' [sic] charges and failure to deliver services with American Express, criticized the Company on Facebook and alerted others who felt wronged by Palace,' Manly said in a statement. Prosecutors have alleged Christy Akeo went on Facebook 'to inform how said fraud was committed against the hotel chain.' Manly said the company was retaliating against the couple for challenging the charges. A spokesperson for The Palace Company told CNN in a statement that they filed a complaint with Mexican authorities after the Akeos 'fraudulently disputed legitimate credit card charges and publicly encouraged others to do the same.' 'Mexican prosecutors reviewed the evidence and, following failed attempts to serve notice, obtained a court-approved arrest warrant,' the company stated. Hull maintains her family received no notice that she is aware of and said her mother did take to social media to share her negative experience with fellow Palace patrons. However, she's baffled at why social media activity may have contributed to the arrest. 'My mom was very clear about that in this Facebook group where people were seeking information on what to do when you get in these memberships,' Hull said. 'If there's 8,000 people dealing with the same thing, and the same disappointments with Palace Resorts, and how they treat their members, maybe you should look in the mirror and make a change.' A Mexican judge ordered the couple detained pending the ongoing proceedings, according to local prosecutors. The Akeo family is now pleading for help from Washington to get the couple out of detention. Michigan Rep. Tom Barrett wrote on X that he has spoken to his constituent's family and is working to 'ensure the situation is resolved as urgently and safely as possible.' The US State Department told CNN it's 'aware of reports of the detention of two U.S. citizens in Mexico' but declined to offer specifics. The couple is being 'held captive in a hell hole of a Mexican maximum-security prison,' Manly said in a statement to CNN. 'The urgency is beyond important because we have no idea what is happening to them at any time. Their lives are in danger. Their health is declining. We need to get these people home,' says Hull, referring to her parents. 'We just don't have another option. They're not going to be sitting in prison indefinitely.' Paul Akeo is a 21-year Navy veteran who currently works as an engineer with the Michigan State Police, according to Manly. His wife, Christy, is a grandmother and small business owner. 'You've imprisoned a highly decorated U.S. Navy veteran, a first responder and a grandmother because they dared to call out your timeshare clients' well-documented deceptive practices and abuse of its customers,' Manly wrote in a March 21 letter to The Palace Company's lawyer. In the letter, Manly claimed the company is extorting the couple and their family and retaliating against them for challenging 'fraudulent and unlawful charges' and then posting about their experience on social media. 'Put plainly, in retaliation, your clients have captured, kidnapped, battered, assaulted, falsely imprisoned, threatened, intimidated, belittled, harassed, libeled and engaged in a course of such horrific and outrageous civil and criminal conduct against these two elderly Americans that is almost incomprehensible,' Manly wrote. Manly warned in the letter that the case could have negative consequences for tourism in the region. The couple's arrest has left at least one other couple wary of travel to Mexico. Jenn Bartko, 52, said she and her husband don't plan to go to Mexico anytime soon out of fear that they'll be arrested after seeing what happened to the Akeos. Similar to the Akeos, her credit card company refunded her $8,355 from the Palace Elite Resorts just last week, Bartko told CNN. 'I just want more people to be aware of the scam, and this company needs to be stopped,' Bartko said. 'It's just not fair for people who are going to have a good vacation and our vacation was completely ruined by this experience.' Bartko said she and her husband put down a deposit for a Palace Elite membership while staying at the Moon Palace Cancun in mid-January, but soon learned that many of the promised membership deals didn't exist and found negative reviews online, she said. Though they were still within the five-day grace period, staff refused to give them a full refund and they waited until they were back home in San Diego to dispute the charges with their credit card company, Bartko said. Bartko said they looped PROFECO, Mexico's consumer protection agency, into their case. The Palace Company did not respond to CNN's request for comment on the more than 100 complaints against it made with the consumer protection agency. 'We will not be going to Mexico for a while which is sad because we're right by the Mexican border. We love Mexico,' Bartko said. 'I'm not willing to try to find out because I don't want to get stuck in a Mexican prison.'
