Michigan couple jailed in Mexico over timeshare, family says
Michael Lemke has spent the last three weeks working alongside his sister, Lindsey, to figure out why their parents, Paul and Christy Akeo, have been stuck in a Mexican jail over what they call wrongful credit card charges.
"This is completely crazy to us because, again, this was over and done with, nothing that should have even escalated to this," said Lemke.
Lemke says the Akeos had a membership with Palace Resorts, a Florida-based company that owns multiple resorts and properties in Mexico.
They say things went sideways when they spoke up about discrepancies in their agreement.
"Our parents were able to prove that Palace Resorts had breached their contract, and in that contract, it offered them the ability to have their money back," said Lemke.
John Manly represents the Lemke-Akeo family in the case and insists his clients have done nothing wrong.
"Make no mistake, what they're doing is they are holding two Americans hostage because they want them to pay them money," said Manly.
Both men say the Akeos were expecting to receive $117,000 more than a year ago, but never got a dime.
On March 4, they decided to go to Cancun and were arrested and detained as soon as they landed, with customs telling the couple they faced criminal fraud charges.
"Ever since then, it's just been every effort we can to try to get them out and bring them home, and also doing our best effort to prove their innocence," said Lemke.
Manly says Palace Resorts has done nothing to work with the Akeos in resolving the matter and points to what he believes is the motive behind all the red tape.
"I think they realized that their daughter, who was one of Larry Nassar's victims, who was horribly abused by him, got a very large settlement, and I think they are after the settlement," said Manly.
Lemke says his parents have struggled, with his mother losing 25 pounds and only getting to see her husband three times in the 21 days since their arrest.
"We've also just been struggling to stay in communication with them and get them the information they need or get them the basic necessities that they need," said Lemke.
Congressman Tom Barrett released a statement about the case, saying, "Today, I was made aware of the situation involving two of my constituents, Paul and Christy Akeo, who were arrested by Mexican police. I have spoken to their family and assured them that my team and I took immediate action and are doing everything we can to help. I have been in contact and will continue working with the White House, State Department, and law enforcement partners in Michigan to ensure this situation is resolved as urgently and safely as possible."
At the last court hearing, Manly says Mexican courts gave Palace Resorts six more months to gather evidence and denied the Akeo's request for house arrest, ordering them to remain in jail until then.
"This was intentional, it was knowing, it was calculated, and it was designed to extort them and to punish them for speaking out about what they felt was aggressive, wrongful, and illegal tactics by Palace Resorts," said Manly.
While no court date has been set, Lemke says his family is focused on resolving this issue as quickly as possible and encourages others to be careful.
"It just shows you how unsafe you can really be, even if there's really nothing that you've done that's wrong," said Lemke.
