A Michigan couple has been arrested without bail in Mexico for allegedly scamming a hospitality company, prosecutors said.
Navy veteran Paul Akeo, 58, and his wife Christy, 60, were arrested on unresolved criminal fraud allegations when they were passing through customs on March 4 following a financial dispute with The Palace Company.
Mr Akeo and Ms Christy left their home in Spring Arbour on March 4 for the resort city of Cancun. Their family claimed they were stopped by police shortly after their plane touched down.
Disputing 13 charges of approximately $117,000 on their credit cards, the couple is accused of scamming the holiday firm during their timeshare membership with its Cancun resort between 2021 and 2022, The New York Post reported.
The pair allegedly advertised their accommodation for use on Facebook while they were not using it, and made “a total of 1,570 bookings” during their membership, which began in 2016.
The resort company claimed it terminated their benefits and planned stays after they “breached their contract by promoting… preferential rates and various benefits via social media.”
In a statement, a Palace Company representative told ABC News that the couple “fraudulently disputed legitimate credit card charges and publicly encouraged others to do the same.”
The Attorney General’s Office of Quintana Roo, in a statement on March 15, alleged that Ms Christy violated her agreement with the resort and “spread the word on Facebook about how they committed the fraud against the hotel chain.”
The Michigan couple, however, claimed they stopped receiving the benefits after the resort violated their contract, which promised them preferred pricing.
The credit card company eventually sided with the couple. They received their money back, and their membership in the Palace Company was terminated.
Mr Akeo and Ms Christy’s children claimed their parents were jailed in “retaliation” for contesting charges the Palace Company made on their American Express credit card.
Lindsey Hull told CNN that her parents were arrested following a criminal complaint filed by “The Palace Company” alleging fraud. She asserted that “it has something to do with the timeshare with Palace Resorts.”
Ms Hull claimed that the travel company is “demanding” $250,000 along with a signed nondisclosure agreement “that does not even guarantee their release.”
“They also demanded a public apology from my mom and Paul to be made to The Palace Company. Absolutely sickening,” Ms Hull added.
Local prosecutors said a Mexican judge ordered the couple to be held while the case is still pending. The Akeo family has requested the US government for assistance.
