A Michigan couple’s vacation to Mexico quickly turned into a nightmare when they were arrested and imprisoned over disputed timeshare payments.
Paul Akeo, a 58-year-old Navy veteran, and his wife, Christy, 60, left their home in Spring Arbor on March 4, expecting a relaxing getaway in a “Palace Elite” resort in Cancun.
As soon as their plane landed, they were arrested on fraud allegations.
According to the Akeos’ attorney, John Manly, the Akeos signed in 2021 a timeshare agreement with Palace Elite, a subsidiary of The Palace Company, a hospitality business.
In 2022, the couple obtained a refund through their credit card company for $116,587 worth of charges after filing a complaint about the resort company breaching its end of the contract.
The Palace Company defended its actions, stating that it had taken legal steps after the couple “fraudulently disputed legitimate credit card charges” and “publicly encouraged others to do the same.”
The hotel chain added that INTERPOL had “validated the case and issued a red notice” prior to the couple’s arrest.
She also claimed she was obliged to the company’s demands to remove a private Facebook Group of 8,000 members where people shared their grievances over “the strong hold tactics and manipulation that Palace Resorts enforces.” She also denounced “completely false news articles” in the Mexican press.
Over the last few weeks, Hull and Manly have been urging the U.S. government to intervene.
The State Department confirmed awareness of the couple’s detention but declined to provide further details.
“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, the owner of Elite Palace who filed the criminal complaint.
Manly said the couple should not be imprisoned over a financial dispute, much less be held in a maximum security prison that he described as “a hell hole.”
“My mom has lost 25 lbs. in 20 days due to inability to eat as the prison is serving her food they are aware she is allergic to,” Hull said. “She also has a severe rash all over her body they refuse to treat.”
Manly also warned that this case could have lasting consequences on tourism in Mexico.