Michigan couple Paul and Christy Akeo being held hostage in Mexican prison over dispute with resort: daughter

A Michigan couple’s spring break vacation quickly turned into a nightmare when they were hauled away to a maximum-security prison for allegedly disputing credit card charges at a resort after touching down in Mexico.Grandparents Christy and Paul Akeo arrived at an airport in Cancun on March 4 when they realized that their passports had a notice placed on them as they went through customs, Christy’s daughter, Lindsey Hull, wrote on Facebook Monday.The couple was arrested on outstanding criminal fraud charges and have been held without bond in a foreign prison for the past 23 days.Hull claimed that her mother and stepfather were arrested in “retaliation” for challenging charges made on their American Express credit card by The Palace Company, a luxury, all-inclusive vacation brand with resorts in Mexico and Jamaica owned by Palace Resorts.The couple had a timeshare membership with the vacation company and disputed charges totaling $117,000 from Palace Resorts on their credit card around three years ago.After months of dealing with challenging the charges, American Express sided with the couple, the money was returned to the Akeos, and their membership with The Palace Company was canceled.Since the incident, the Akeos have returned to Cancun multiple times over the past few years and have never run into trouble until recently.“The last 21 days of torture my parents have been through is a direct response of The Palace Company’s corruption, extortion, retaliation and blackmail against our parents,” Hull wrote.She claims that the company is “demanding” $250,000 and for them to sign a nondisclosure agreement “that does not even guarantee their release.”“If that’s not enough, they also demanded a public apology from my mom and Paul to be made to The Palace Company.Absolutely sickening,” the concerned daughter wrote.The lawyer who represented the Akeos in the dispute against Palace Resorts, John Manly, said the case was closed and the couple is b...