- A Michigan couple has been in a Mexican prison for three weeks after being arrested at Cancun International Airport
- A Mexican newspaper reports the couple was arrested for fraud but their daughter says they're being extorted over a timeshare dispute
- Video shows the couple's daughter and an attorney explaining the situation
These last three weeks have been hell for Lindsey Hull.
It started March 4 when her parents Christy and Paul Akeo arrived at Cancun International Airport for a trip to Isla Mujeres, an island just off the coast of Cancun, Mexico.
Minutes after arriving, INTERPOL officers arrested the couple and took them to Quintana Roo Maximum Security Prison, where they've been held ever since according to attorney John Manly.
Hull has been able speak to her mom once a day for two-to-five minutes per call. Hull deleted a Facebook group in good faith only to be rewarded with silence. Hull hasn't spoken to her stepdad since the day of the arrest.
Manly says Paul Akeo's disappearance is concerning.
"We don't know if Paul is alive or dead. No one has talked to him," Manly said. "Mexican authorities won't let us talk to him."
Hull and Manly both say The Palace Company (TPC) is responsible for the couple's arrest.
Manly says the couple bought a timeshare from TPC-owned Paradise Resorts but that the company was canceling reservations and charging the Akeos. The family felt TPC was not fulfilling their contract obligations, Manly said.
The Akeos asked their cardholder American Express to look into the charges according to Manly. The card company agreed with the complaints and refunded more than $116,000 to the couple.
Manly says the timeshare dispute between the Akeos and TPC ended around late 2023 or early 2024.
"[The Akeos] challenged a credit card charge by a timeshare company. That's why they're at a maximum security prison," Manly said.
PHOTO: SCREENSHOT OF ONE OF TWO ARTICLES ABOUT THE AKEOS POSTED ON A MEXICAN NEWSPAPER'S WEBSITE
The Mexican newspaper, Riviera Maya News, reported on March 5 that the couple was arrested by INTERPOL agents for defrauding a hotel chain out of $116,000.
On March 15, the paper reported that the couple was officially charged with fraud.
The Palace Company and Paradise Resorts were not mentioned in either report.
The newspaper's editor told me in an email, 'The 'information we published in our articles is the only information we were provided by local authorities. We know nothing more.'
Sometime after settling the timeshare dispute, Hull said her mom, Christy, joined the Facebook group 'Palace Members— DISAPPOINTED & FRUSTRATED—Discuss & Support.
PHOTO: SCREENSHOT OF A BANNER BELONGING TO A SINCE-DELETED FACEBOOK GROUP WHERE THE PALACE PLACE CUSTOMERS AIRED THEIR CONCERNS
The group, Hull says, allowed more than 8,000 followers to address 'mostly negative' experiences about TPC. The company wanted the page to be taken down says Hull.
Hull and her brother reached out to the group's lead administrator to explain their parents' situation and were granted full access to the page.
Hull says they deleted each member one-by-one before deleting the page entirely as a sign of good faith toward the company.
But after eight days, Hull heard nothing from TPC. In response, she made a Facebook post on Monday that, at the time of this writing, has generated more than 27,000 shares.
Since Monday, Hull has been posting non-stop on social media by creating an X (formerly Twitter) account and posting videos on TikTok.
PHOTO: PAUL & CHRISTY AKEO, COURTESY OF LINDSEY HULL
Hull is hoping users with larger audiences can help spread her message and get her parents home.
"We need help. We need voices. We need eyes on this," Hull said.
Manly says TPC demanded the couple sign a non-disclosure agreement, make a public apology and pay $250,000. Manly called it 'out of control' and 'criminal'.
PHOTO: SCREENSHOT SHOWING THE BEGINNING OF A NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT THAT TPC ALLEGEDLY WANTED THE AKEOS TO SIGN
"What we're dealing with here is corruption and extortion from this company against our parents," Hull said. [My parents] are the first people who I presume who have been treated this poorly to this extent to be thrown in prison."
Hull says Paul Akeo is a 21-year U.S. Navy veteran who works as a mechanical engineer for Michigan State Police.
MSP didn't respond to our request for comment to confirm Mr. Akeo's employment there.
Christy Akeo is a retired business owner and grandmother who delivered groceries for Shipt, according to Hull. The Akeos live in Spring Arbor, a town west of Jackson.
Manly hopes Paul Akeo's status as a veteran will get their story on the Trump Administration's radar.
'We got to keep faith and I hope the president keeps faith with him and I believe he will," Manly said. "I pray... everyday."
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