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Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Michigan couple jailed in Mexico over timeshare dispute return home
April 4 (UPI) -- A Michigan couple who were imprisoned in Mexico for about a month after they disputed charges related to a Mexican timeshare have returned to the United States. Congressman Tom Barrett, R- Mich. posted to social media Thursday night that "Paul and Christy Akeo are coming home." Barrett flew to Cancun Wednesday to secure their release from the Cereso Cancun maximum-security prison where both were being held after reportedly being jailed for alleged credit card fraud and breach of a contract agreement, according to the Palace Resorts company. The company shared documents with CBS News Detroit which alleged that "between 2016 and 2021, the Akeos knowingly and willingly entered into 19 separate membership agreements with [Palace Resorts], investing over $1.4 million in exchange for exclusive benefits and rates intended strictly for personal use." Palace Resorts claimed that the couple bought a timeshare membership with the company several years earlier and then filed a complaint with the Mexican public prosecutor. The company further purported that the Akeos swindled it through $117,000 of chargebacks on their American Express card, in which American Express takes back funds from a vendor, and after it filed a complaint with the Mexican public prosecutor, the couple was arrested. Lindsey Hull, daughter of Christy and stepdaughter of Paul had reached out for help via Facebook with a post in March that said the Akeos were being "held captive," for ostensibly "challenging wrongful credit card charges made by The Palace Company, aka Palace Resorts with American Express." Hull said that once American Express sided with the Akeos over the charges, the two were imprisoned and further alleged that Palace Resorts "is demanding $250,000, the signing of an NDA that does not even guarantee their release, as well as a Facebook post made by our parents to be left up for one week claiming all responsibility and fault for the torture they have endured throughout the last three weeks, and that the company purportedly "demanded a public apology from my mom and Paul to be made to" Palace Resorts. Barrett posted to X Wednesday that he "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." The Akeos were arrested after landing in Cancun, in the state of Quintana on March 4. The state attorney said the couple reached an agreement with the timeshare company for an undisclosed amount of money before a judge dismissed the case and ordered their release.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan couple jailed in Mexico returning home after lawmaker visit
The Brief A couple from Michigan is returning home after being jailed in Mexico for over a month. Paul and Christy Akeo boarded a flight with Congressman Tom Barrett after the lawmaker landed in the country on April 2. The two had a membership with the Palace Resorts, a company based in Florida that owns a number of resorts and time-shares in Mexico (FOX 2) - It is the end of an international nightmare for two Michigan residents who were stuck in a Mexican jail in a dispute over a time-share, as they are now flying back home. What they're saying Paul and Christy Akeo, along with Congressman Tom Barrett, entered their plane back home on Thursday that can be seen in a video posted to the representative's X account at 8:44 p.m. This came a day after Barrett landed in Mexico to meet the couple, who had been jailed since the beginning of March. "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," Barrett said. "I met with the president of the Quintana Roo Supreme Court to expedite any relief we can provide." The backstory According to their daughter, Lindsey Lemke Hull, the two had a membership with the Palace Resorts, a company based in Florida that owns a number of resorts and time-shares in Mexico, but Lemke Hull says the Palace Resorts breached the contract. That was said to be about $117,000, but it was over a year ago. There was no dispute, or so they thought. The parents decided to go to Cancun but were detained and arrested as soon as their airplane landed, Lemke Hull said. Customs officials claimed they had outstanding charges of criminal fraud and sent them straight to jail. "She's very confused. She cries a lot. She is scared she's unaware of the amount of corruption that is going on with this case. She is upset because she can't see her husband or speak to her husband about anything," Lemke Hull said. "She's just there." Dig deeper Back in March, it was determined that the Palace Resorts would be given six more months to gather evidence, which meant that Lemke Hull's parents would have been jailed in Mexico for at least six more months. Thankfully, they won't have to wait that long anymore. The Source FOX 2 used information from Congressman Tom Barrett's social media and previous reporting.
CBS News
04-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Michigan couple jailed in Mexico returning to the U.S., Rep. Tom Barrett says
Michigan U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett says the couple who was jailed in Mexico are returning to the United States after spending a month behind bars over a timeshare dispute. In a social media post on Thursday night , Barrett posted a video of him getting on a plane with Paul and Christy Akeo, saying "Mission accomplished." Barrett traveled to Mexico on Wednesday to meet with the Akeos from Spring Arbor, citing the couple's "deteriorating physical condition." The Akeos were arrested on March 4, shortly after landing in Cancun. Mexican authorities told the couple they faced criminal fraud charges. The couple had a membership with Palace Resorts, a Florida-based company that owns resorts and properties in Mexico. This story is developing. Stay with CBS News Detroit as more information becomes available.
CBS News
28-03-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Timeshare company claims Michigan couple detained in Mexico breached contract agreement, committed fraud
An attorney representing a Michigan couple who is detained in Mexico disputes claims that the couple breached a contract agreement with a timeshare company and committed credit card fraud. Palace Resorts, a Florida-based company that owns multiple resorts and properties in Mexico, shared documents with CBS News Detroit detailing the reasons behind its decision to pursue criminal fraud charges against the couple. In a statement, the company says, "Between 2016 and 2021, the Akeos knowingly and willingly entered into 19 separate membership agreements with Palace Elite, investing over $1.4 million USD in exchange for exclusive benefits and rates intended strictly for personal use." A nearly 50-page contract shows the money Paul and Christy Akeos paid and the guidelines the couple was expected to follow when using the properties. Their attorney, John Manly, says the decision to pursue criminal charges is overblown. "This is just a bunch of lies and I think what the documents illustrate is this is a civil dispute," Manly said. "We don't put people in prison in this country or in Mexico for breach of contract. This is a timeshare, not a crime share," said Manly. Palace says the Akeos were found to be in "material breach" of the agreements in 2021 and alleges that the couple promoted and profited from their benefits on social media, which the company says is explicitly prohibited under the terms of the contract. "Last time I looked, we had the First Amendment, we had free speech," said Manly. Palace claims they notified Akeos of the violation and sent the couple a waiver they signed in April 2022. In it, they acknowledge what they did and agree to refrain from posting any future comments about the company. Palace claims the Akeos then began disputing their membership charges with their credit card companies, getting more than $100,000 in reversed fees. In Facebook posts shared with CBS News Detroit, the company alleges the Akeos bragged about these chargebacks and encouraged others to follow suit. That's when attorneys for Palace sent a cease-and-desist letter accusing the couple of providing "specific instructions to current palace elite members on how to purportedly 'terminate' their respective membership agreement using illegal and fraudulent means." That led Palace to file a criminal complaint against the couple in August 2023. "I'm sorry, if you use inflammatory language about your hotel or your vacation timeshare in Mexico, you go to jail? Really? That's their complaint? These people have no business being in prison anywhere. This is a contract dispute," said Manly. Manly says Palace recently offered the Akeos a settlement if the couple paid $250,000, signed a non-disclosure agreement, helped take down the Facebook group, and publicly apologized. The family declined, calling it extortion. "But more importantly, Palace could say, 'Oh, you violated this. You've committed fraud. We're putting a red notice out on you. We're going to charge you with a crime,' and they'd be right back in prison in Mexico. They can't sign it, and they're not going to sign it," said Manly. Manly says the couple is still fighting the recent order by a Mexican court that gave palace resorts six more months to gather evidence and denied the Akeo's request for house arrest, ordering them to remain in jail until then.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Yahoo
Concern grows over Spring Arbor parents imprisoned in Mexico
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — A couple from Spring Arbor has been held in a Mexican prison for weeks, with no sign of being released. The has gone national, and their loved ones are desperate to get them back home. The Akeos were detained after landing at the Cancun International Airport on March 4, stemming from a contract dispute dating back to 2021 that they thought was behind them. 6 News spoke with their children, Lindsey Hull and Michael Lemke, to find out what might happen next. 'Every second of every day, we are concerned for their safety, especially with the lack of communication,' says Hull. 'The idea that they're sitting in a maximum-security prison over a time-share dispute at best is unacceptable.' Hull says they are being falsely accused of defrauding Palace Resorts out of more than $110,000 and that the dispute goes back to 2021. The Akeo family says Palace Resorts breached a timeshare contract they had signed with the Akeo parents, leading them to seek legal advice. Hull says they then presented evidence to their bank, who agreed with them, cancelling more than $110,000 of payments. The Akeo parents thought the dispute was over, but they were arrested and are now locked up in Centro de Reinserción Social de Cancún, according to their son Michael Lemke. 'The situation is incredibly unfortunate over something that is a contract dispute that we felt, I should say it seemed like was done and over with,' says Lemke. 'The big thing for us is just bringing them home.' The siblings say their stay in the prison has already taken a toll on them, especially their mother. 'They've been serving her food. 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,' says 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.' Lemke says a Mexican judge has given Palace Resorts six months to gather evidence—meaning the Akeos could be detained for much longer. The siblings have been able to speak with their mother over the phone several times but still haven't heard from their stepfather. The U.S. government is aware of the situation, but so far, no agreement has been reached for their release as of Tuesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
