A Michigan couple who were arrested last month in Cancun, Mexico, following a dispute over a payment with a resort company have been released and are returning to the United States, U.S. special envoy Adam Boehler confirmed on April 3.
Paul Akeo and his wife, Christy, had been held in a Mexican prison since their March 4 arrest following the disagreement with Palace Resorts, a Florida-based company that owns multiple luxury hotels, resorts, and vacation clubs worldwide.
“They are in the plane right now” on a chartered flight to Michigan, Boehler said. The couple was accompanied on the flight by Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Mich.).
Barrett flew to Cancun on April 2 to visit the pair in the maximum-security prison where they were being held. During his visit, Barrett said he also met with the president of the Quintana Roo Supreme Court to try to secure the couple’s safe release.
“This has left them scared, frustrated, and struggling to find hope,” Barrett wrote.
The payments were canceled after the couple made use of various benefits they were entitled to as part of their membership with the resort, the complaint states.
The chargebacks were made due to disputes that Paul Akeo filed with American Express. He said that he “did not recognize the charges made to his credit card” and that the “products or services charged to his credit card were never provided or received,” according to the complaint.
“Consequently, an investigation was initiated regarding the payments that were legitimately authorized,” according to the complaint, and the Akeos were reimbursed the disputed amounts.
The complaint further alleged that the couple misused their membership rights by marketing and reselling to third parties various benefits that were intended for exclusive use under a contract they signed with the chain.
Doing so led to significant financial losses for the resort, according to the complaint.
The couple were “not only publicly sharing the benefits granted through the Affiliation Program on social networks but were also illegally selling those membership benefits to third parties,” the complaint states.
Though not recognized by the resort as beneficiaries, the third parties were “allowed to book stays in Palace Resorts’ establishments at exclusive member-only rates and access discounted services intended only for members.”
This practice violated “contractual agreements as the benefits are strictly personal and cannot be transferred to the general public (non-members),” the complaint states.
Palace Resorts alleged the couple’s actions constituted fraud.
The couple was released after The Palace Company and the Akeos came to an agreement whereby the amount contested and ultimately refunded to the Akeos by American Express would be donated to a nonprofit in Mexico benefiting orphan children.
“Each party regrets that this incident occurred,” a joint statement from the Akeos and The Palace Company said.
The Epoch Times contacted the Department of Homeland Security, The Palace Company, and a lawyer for the Akeos for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
