Latest news with #Akeos
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Yahoo
How Paul and Christy Akeo returned home to Michigan
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Shortly before midnight on Thursday, April 3, Paul and Christy Akeo of Spring Arbor returned to Michigan after spending weeks in a maximum-security prison in Mexico, and when it happened. The Akeos spoke to the media late Thursday night about their experiences, and U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte), who flew to Mexico personally to advocate for their release, sat down with 6 News Friday to provide some insight into what happened behind the scenes. The Akeo parents were initially arrested on March 4 at a Cancún airport, accused of defrauding resort chain out of more than $116,000 by cancelling membership charges on a credit card. The family and their lawyer disputes these allegations, saying the the timeshare contract they had with the Akeos and were actually at fault in the conflict. Paul told 6 News what happened to them after they were arrested, saying days went by before they could talk to their family or even each other. '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 language barrier also made the couple's stay in prison more difficult, with Lemke things are not being translated for them and that various 'odd situations' complicated their experiences. The Akeo children previously told 6 News that their parents' stay in prison was impacting their health—especially Christy's, whose allergies led her to avoid most meals. 'The problem is there's been several times where they've served her food that she's allergic to or cannot eat because of that,' the Akeo's son, Michael Lemke, 'She's been having this rash that keeps breaking out on her just after some food, so she's only able to eat certain things.' In a , the Akeos' daughter Lindsey Hull, began asking for help on March 24. That same day, Barrett of the Akeos' situation and began working to get them released. But for him, everything really began moving on Tuesday. 'There wasn't a feeling of urgency involved,' says Barrett. 'And so on Tuesday afternoon, I got a briefing from the State Department back here in the United States, in my office in Washington, D.C.' He expressed his dissatisfaction with the way the Akeos' situation was being handled. 'I felt like this had not progressed in the way we needed. And so, I made the decision to fly down as quickly as I could to just bring about a resolution to this,' says Barrett. 'We went directly to the prison, met with Paul and Christy at the prison immediately upon our arrival.' He spoke with the Akeos for an hour and called the conditions they were facing in the prison 'horrific,' with 'rubbled walls, overcrowded cells, toilets that don't flush, and disgusting food.' He says that from there, he met with the president of the Quintana Roo Supreme Court and others to negotiate their release. MORE: Where in Mexico are the Spring Arbor parents being held? 'From there, we left the prison and went and met with the president of the Supreme Court of Mexico, begin that process of negotiating some of the court proceedings side of it,' says Barrett. 'That can be very bureaucratic in Mexico.' 6 News previously spoke with Lemke, who that his parents could have been held for more than six months, as that was how long a judge gave Palace Elite to gather evidence. However, Barrett says it would have been longer than that. 'You might you know, their trial was not supposed to be for about a year from now,' Barrett told 6 News. The congressman says the negotiations for the Akeos' release were tricky, involving both legal talks and separate discussions with the company. However, after he met with Mexican officials, they arranged a hearing for Thursday, where the charges against Paul and Christy were dropped. 'So for us to be able to get them into a courtroom meant that we had to move a lot of channels to be able to do that,' says Barrett. 'And then in the background, on a parallel track, we had to negotiate with the company around the terms of what we could agree to, to ultimately get them released and how that was going to work.' As a result, the Akeos are no longer facing any charges in Mexico—but they still have obligations to take care of regarding the conditions of their release. Barrett says the Akeos and the company made a public statement where neither of them assigned blame or responsibility to the other and that both parties will be donating money equalling the amount of the disputed charges—around $116,000—to a charity that operates a Mexican orphanage. 'So, the two parties are investing the money into that charitable nonprofit, so a good resolution. Everyone seems to be happy, and they're home safe, and that's ultimately what I was trying to bring about with the parties,' says Barrett. The congressman gave 6 News an idea of his thought process throughout the dispute. 'I looked at it from the standpoint of, number one, if you have a financial contract dispute in the United States, you handle that through civil litigation,' Barrett told 6 News. 'You don't have a party in the desperate conditions that they were in down in Mexico as leverage for a settlement in a dispute of that kind. ' He says that in the end, he wasn't focused on who was at fault. 'For me, it wasn't so much 'Who's responsible for which part of this?' and 'Who's to blame for this?' and the other thing, I wasn't really interested in negotiating that part of it,' said Barrett. 'I was interested in what can we do that will expedite their return, their safe release, and return home as quickly as possible.' 6 News was at the Capital Region International Airport late Thursday night when the parents . 'I never thought we would be coming home for months,' Christy said. 'We are so happy that it's over.' The couple expressed their gratitude toward all the people who made their return home possible. 'I don't even know how we're gonna repay or thank people. There's so many people that have just supported us, but we still don't know all of them. We've just been glimpsing,' said Christy. 'I mean, how do you repay or thank people?' The Akeo parents were especially thankful for the work their children put into getting them home. 'Our kids, I can't say how proud I am for what our kids have done, the people they contacted, the using social media to let people be aware of what's going on, because we didn't know what we were going to do,' said Christy. 'How do you repay your kids for doing what they did?' Paul echoed Christy's words, telling all the people who watched their story unfold to 'be thankful for what America has given us. Just be thankful for the little things.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan couple returns home after 32-day hold in a Mexican prison over a timeshare dispute
DETROIT (AP) — A Michigan couple accused of fraud in a timeshare contract dispute and held in a Mexican prison for 32 days has returned home following negotiations between U.S. and Mexican officials. Paul and Christy Akeo of Lansing were released from a maximum security prison in Cancun on Thursday and flown back to Michigan, attorney John Manly told The Associated Press. Their release comes as the United State and Mexico are embroiled in a tariff war initiated by President Donald Trump, border security concerns and pressure to stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. Prosecutors in the state of Quintana Roo, where Cancun is located, said in a March 15 statement that the Akeos signed a contract with the Mexico-based hospitality group Palace Co. in November 2021 to buy a timeshare club membership at a resort in the Cancun area, but that the couple subsequently defrauded the hotel chain. Manly said his clients disputed about $116,000 in credit card charges to Palace in 2022, saying the company had breached the timeshare agreement. 'American Express gave Palace the opportunity to respond," he said. "They did and American Express found for the Akeos.' Prosecutors said the company received notices from the credit card company that 13 transactions totaling $116,587 had been canceled, and the couple then shared on Facebook how they had conned the hotel group. Manley said Christy Akeo did post on Facebook about their experience and how the charges were appealed to their credit card company, but that prosecutors had misrepresented the nature of her posts. Reporters were on hand to record the arrest of the Akeos at Cancun International Airport on March 4, when they arrived for a vacation at a different resort, and a judge ordered them detained pending trial, Manly said. Christy Akeo's adult children — two-time national champion gymnast Lindsey Lemke Hull and Michael Lemke — then posted about their parents' confinement on social media, winning the attention of U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, a Republican from Lansing, Michigan. Barrett said he became involved around March 23 or 24. 'We had some loose connections to friends of friends who kind of knew the family,' Barrett said Friday. 'I spoke directly to the son. I escalated it up to the State Department and the White House that same day.' U.S. Consulate staff in Mexico visited the couple in prison, but there didn't seem to be any movement on their case, Barrett said. 'Not satisfied with what we were hearing, I made the decision to go down there and deal with it personally,' he said. Barrett said he flew to Cancun on Wednesday where he met with the U.S. State Department consulate general. He then went to the prison to meet with the Akeos and later met with the president of Mexico's National Supreme Court of Justice. The Akeos went before a local judge on Thursday and were released after they and the Palace Co. agreed to donate the disputed funds, Barrett said. 'This essentially amounted to a contract dispute and shouldn't result in somebody being in max prison,' he said. Palace said in a statement 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 benefitting orphan children.' 'Each party regrets that this incident occurred,' Palace said. Lindsey Lemke Hull and Michael Lemke thanked Barrett, Trump and his special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, for helping to secure the release. '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 said. 'No American should be held hostage to the demands of a private company anywhere in the world." Lemke Hull is a survivor of Michigan State University sports medicine doctor Larry Nassar, who is serving what amounts to life in prison for possessing child pornography and sexually assaulting athletes, mostly female gymnasts. ___ Associated Press journalist Lisa Adams Wagner in Atlanta contributed.
Associated Press
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Michigan couple returns home after 32-day hold in a Mexican prison over a timeshare dispute
DETROIT (AP) — A Michigan couple accused of fraud in a timeshare contract dispute and held in a Mexican prison for 32 days has returned home following negotiations between U.S. and Mexican officials. Paul and Christy Akeo of Lansing were released from a maximum security prison in Cancun on Thursday and flown back to Michigan, attorney John Manly told The Associated Press. Their release comes as the United State and Mexico are embroiled in a tariff war initiated by President Donald Trump, border security concerns and pressure to stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. Prosecutors in the state of Quintana Roo, where Cancun is located, said in a March 15 statement that the Akeos signed a contract with the Mexico-based hospitality group Palace Co. in November 2021 to buy a timeshare club membership at a resort in the Cancun area, but that the couple subsequently defrauded the hotel chain. Manly said his clients disputed about $116,000 in credit card charges to Palace in 2022, saying the company had breached the timeshare agreement. 'American Express gave Palace the opportunity to respond,' he said. 'They did and American Express found for the Akeos.' Prosecutors said the company received notices from the credit card company that 13 transactions totaling $116,587 had been canceled, and the couple then shared on Facebook how they had conned the hotel group. Manley said Christy Akeo did post on Facebook about their experience and how the charges were appealed to their credit card company, but that prosecutors had misrepresented the nature of her posts. Reporters were on hand to record the arrest of the Akeos at Cancun International Airport on March 4, when they arrived for a vacation at a different resort, and a judge ordered them detained pending trial, Manly said. Christy Akeo's adult children — two-time national champion gymnast Lindsey Lemke Hull and Michael Lemke — then posted about their parents' confinement on social media, winning the attention of U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, a Republican from Lansing, Michigan. Barrett said he became involved around March 23 or 24. 'We had some loose connections to friends of friends who kind of knew the family,' Barrett said Friday. 'I spoke directly to the son. I escalated it up to the State Department and the White House that same day.' U.S. Consulate staff in Mexico visited the couple in prison, but there didn't seem to be any movement on their case, Barrett said. 'Not satisfied with what we were hearing, I made the decision to go down there and deal with it personally,' he said. Barrett said he flew to Cancun on Wednesday where he met with the U.S. State Department consulate general. He then went to the prison to meet with the Akeos and later met with the president of Mexico's National Supreme Court of Justice. The Akeos went before a local judge on Thursday and were released after they and the Palace Co. agreed to donate the disputed funds, Barrett said. 'This essentially amounted to a contract dispute and shouldn't result in somebody being in max prison,' he said. Palace said in a statement 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 benefitting orphan children.' 'Each party regrets that this incident occurred,' Palace said. Lindsey Lemke Hull and Michael Lemke thanked Barrett, Trump and his special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, for helping to secure the release. '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 said. 'No American should be held hostage to the demands of a private company anywhere in the world.'
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
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘We'll never leave again:' Spring Arbor couple back home
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Spring Arbor couple Paul and Christy Akeo, who spent almost a month in a , are now back stateside. Their flight touched down at the Capital Region International Airport at around midnight. 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 (R-Charlotte) say they are no longer facing charges, and the entire case against them has been dropped. The pair was on March 4 at an airport in Cancún on fraud allegations. They were accused of defrauding resort chain out of more than $116,000 by breaching a timeshare contract and illegally cancelling membership charges to an American Express credit card. 6 News spoke with , who said his parents could have been held for up to six months, as a judge previously gave the company that much time to gather evidence. The Akeos' release comes a day after Barrett . Barrett told 6 News 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. 6 News captured the moment when the Akeo's reunited with their family. 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. Congressman Tom Barrett shared what he saw in the prison as well 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. Christy's kids started reaching out for help after they heard about the arrest. Word go to U.S. Representative Tom Barrett, who flew to Mexico Wednesday to meet with them. 'I insisted when I went down there that I wasn't going to leave empty handed, and I wasn't going to leave without bringing them back,' Rep. Barrett said. By then the Akeos felt hopeless, even after meeting with Congressman Barrett. 'I never thought we would be coming home for months,' Christy said. Congressman 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 adds 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. Christy said now that the couple is home, the first thing she is going to do is take a shower. 'There were no showers there, and if you could take a shower it was cold,' Christy said. After a month of uncertainty, this family can now rest easy with the Akeos back in the United States. 'Be thankful for what America has given us,' Paul continued. 'And just be thankful for the little things.' Thursday evening, 6 News 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. Lindsey Lemke Hull and Michael Lemke, April 4. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
