AN AMERICAN couple’s desperate fight to go home continues as they’ve been stuck in jail in Mexico for more than three weeks.
Paul and Christy Akeo were sent to prison over a dispute about a time-share at a resort that’s now demanding $250,000 and a public apology for their release, their daughter said.
Lindsey Lemke Hull’s mom and step-dad were detained as soon as they got off their plane to Cancun, Mexico, on March 4, the worried daughter told NBC affiliate WDIV-TV.
The Michigan couple was allegedly arrested for criminal fraud over unpaid credit card charges totaling more than $117,000 at Palace Resorts, which Hull said they believed had been resolved.
She claimed Palace Resorts is retaliating against her parents because they disputed charges from the resort on their American Express card.
“The last 21 days of being held captive is a direct result of my parents simply challenging wrongful credit card charges made by The Palace Company, aka Palace Resorts with American Express,” Hull said in a statement on Facebook.
Hull said American Express took Paul and Christy’s side in the dispute.
American Express hasn’t returned The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
Palace Resorts is a company based in Florida that owns resorts and timeshares in Mexico.
Hull claimed the company is requiring certain conditions in order for her parents to go free from the prison, which she says is a maximum-security facility.
She said the company demanded $250,000, signing an NDA, and a Facebook post claiming all responsibility for their imprisonment.
“If that’s not enough, they also demanded a public apology from my mom and Paul to be made to The Palace Company,” Hull wrote on Facebook.
“Absolutely sickening.”
Palace Resorts hasn’t returned The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
Hull said she’s been able to talk to her mom while in custody, but that she hasn’t heard from her stepdad in three weeks.
“The scariest thing is they’ve been there for 21 days and we’ve had no contact with my stepdad Paul at all,” Lindsey said.
Lindsey Lemke Hull's full statement
Lindsey Lemke Hull shared a statement on Facebook on March 24 begging for help for her parents, who she says are allegedly wrongfully jailed in Mexico.
“On March 4th, 2025, my stepdad and mom, Paul and Christy Akeo were imprisoned in Cancun, Mexico and are now being held without bail in a maximum-security Mexican prison,” Hull said.
“The last 21 days of being held captive is a direct result of my parents simply challenging wrongful credit card charges made by The Palace Company, aka Palace Resorts with American Express. American Express sided with my mom and Paul as a response to these wrongful charges.
“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.
“The Palace Company is demanding $250,000, the signing of an NDA that does not even guarantee their release, as well as a Facebook post made by our parents to be left up for 1 week claiming all responsibility and fault for the torture they have endured throughout the last 3 weeks.
“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.
“Despite what the completely false news articles posted in Mexico say, aiming to defame and slander our parents, we have all proof necessary to show these articles are written off of lies. With no mention of Palace Resorts at all in any article.
“My mom and Paul are being denied medical attention, denied proper communication and publicly defamed.
“They have been held captive in prison for 21 days and despite asking numerous times to speak to Paul, we have yet to have ANY communication with him. My mom has lost 25 lbs. in 20 days due to inability to eat as the prison is serving her food they are aware she is allergic to. She also has a severe rash all over her body they refuse to treat.
“These are all concerns that have been brought up numerous times to the US Consulate over the last 3 weeks, yet they failed to have any sort of visit with my parents until 17 DAYS into their imprisonment. In other words, the US Consulate and the US Embassy have been nothing short of useless.
“We have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars towards Mexican legal representation, but unfortunately that only goes so far when dealing with this level of corruption and extortion. We have also met prior demands given to us by The Palace Company and yet they have had no serious response to letting our parents free.
“This includes forcing my brother and I to remove a private Facebook Group of 8,000 members who came together as a community to share grievances and receive advice on how to deal with the strong hold tactics and manipulation that Palace Resorts enforces.
“By forcing us to remove this group, which we did not own or create, they silenced thousands of Palace Resorts members who were simply sharing their truth of how awful and actually harmful it is to be a Palace Resort Member.
“We have contacted numerous local and national government representation including but not limited to:· US Embassy & US Consulate· FBI, US Department of State & US Senate· Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Office· US Senator Gary Peters & Senator Elissa Slotkin· Michigan State Police· NBC News & FOX News
“Please let it be known – Paul is a US Navy Chief Petty Officer and served our country for 21 years. The lack of action from our own government officials to help an innocent veteran who proudly served our country is UNACCEPTABLE.
“PLEASE help us SPREAD THE WORD—SHARE THIS POST, TAG MEDIA OUTLETS AND TAG OUR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND REPRESENTATIVES!
“If you know our parents at all, you know they are undeserving of this. My family is asking for EVERYONE to step in and PLEASE….HELP US GET THEM HOME.”
Source: Facebook
She said the conversations with her mom are limited to brief phone calls every day.
“It’s very short, usually less than five minutes, and someone will tell her she needs to get off the phone,” Lindsey explained.
“There are certain things that she won’t ever share with me and my brother because I don’t think she wants us to even know.”
Lindsey told local Fox affiliate WXMI her mom is “very confused” and “cries a lot.”
“She is upset because she can’t see her husband or speak to her husband about anything,” Lemke Hull said.
“She’s just there.”
Hull also said her parents have been denied medical attention and that her mom has lost weight because of the prison gives her food she’s allergic to.
She slammed the US Consulate and the US Embassy as being “useless” to help her family.
Lindsey HullPaul Akeo, a veteran who Hull said hasn’t been allowed to speak to his wife since they were jailed[/caption] Lindsey HullPaul and Christy Akeo, who their daughter says are in jail due to a credit card charge dispute with Palace Resorts[/caption]‘GET THEM HOME’
Hull and her brother are begging for social media users to spread the word in hopes it’ll help bring Christy and Paul home.
The family has also reportedly obtained legal representation in both Mexico and the United States.
John Manly, who represents the Lemke-Akeo family, insists Paul and Christy did nothing wrong.
“Make no mistake, what they’re doing is they are holding two Americans hostage because they want them to pay them money,” Manly told CBS affiliate WWJ-TV.
“If you know our parents at all, you know they are undeserving of this,” Hull wrote on Facebook.
“My family is asking for EVERYONE to step in and PLEASE….HELP US GET THEM HOME.”
Palace Resorts have been given six more months to gather evidence in their case against the Akeos, meaning they could stay jailed in Mexico for at least six more months, according to WXMI.
Congressman Tom Barrett shared a statement about the case on social media.
“Today, I was made aware of the situation involving two of my constituents, Paul and Christy Akeo, who were arrested by Mexican police,” Barrett said on X.
“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.”
Lindsey HullChristy and Paul Akeo were arrested as soon as they flew into Cancun, Mexico[/caption] Read More Details
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