U.S. couple finally home after month in Mexican prison over timeshare dispute
Global News
Paul and Christy Akeo of Michigan were taken into custody shortly after their plane landed in Cancun on March 4 for allegedly defrauding Palace Elite Resorts.
A Michigan couple has been released from a Mexican prison after spending nearly a month behind bars over a payment dispute with a timeshare company.
Paul, 58, and Christy Akeo, 60, “have been released from custody and have returned to Lansing, Michigan,” according to a statement from their lawyers on April 3.
Prosecutors in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo accused the couple of cancelling 13 credit card payments to a hotel chain worth approximately $116,500 in 2022, which they said constituted fraud, CNN reported.
The couple denied the allegations, saying that their credit card company had refunded the amount when the resort firm, The Palace Company, failed to provide services that were promised. A judge dismissed the criminal case and ordered the release of the couple after the state attorney of Quintana Roo reached an agreement with the Akeos and the timeshare company.
Under the terms of the agreement, $116,587.84 will be donated to a non-profit organization in Mexico benefiting orphan children.
“Each party regrets that this incident occurred,” a joint statement from the Akeos and The Palace Company said.
The couple was taken into custody shortly after their plane landed in Cancun on March 4 for allegedly defrauding the hospitality company, Palace Elite Resorts. The company previously claimed the couple had defrauded it through $117,000 of chargebacks on their American Express card after they purchased a timeshare membership with them several years earlier.
Palace Elite Resorts filed a complaint with the Mexican public prosecutor, which led to the arrests of the Akeos.
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Paul and Christy Akeo of Michigan were taken into custody shortly after their plane landed in Cancun on March 4 for allegedly defrauding Palace Elite Resorts.
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