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A Michigan couple has been arrested without bail in Mexico for allegedly scamming a hospitality company, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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Disputing 13 charges of\u00a0approximately $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<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The resort company claimed\u00a0it terminated their benefits and planned stays\u00a0after they \u201cbreached their contract by promoting\u2026 preferential rates and various benefits via social media.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, a Palace Company representative told ABC News that the couple \u201cfraudulently disputed legitimate credit card charges and publicly encouraged others to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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 \u201cspread the word on Facebook about how they committed the fraud against the hotel chain.\u201d<\/p>\n The Michigan couple, however, claimed they stopped receiving the benefits after the resort violated their contract, which promised them preferred pricing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The credit card company eventually sided with the couple. They received their money back, and their membership in the Palace Company was terminated.<\/p>\n Mr Akeo and Ms Christy’s children claimed their parents were jailed in \u201cretaliation\u201d for contesting charges the Palace Company made on their American Express credit card.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n