‘Like a horror movie:' Michigan grandparents detained in Mexico over timeshare dispute

A Michigan couple’s family says they have been detained in a prison in Mexico for nearly three weeks over “a kidnapping and extortion attempt” stemming from a contract dispute related to a timeshare.

Christy and Paul Akeo, of Spring Arbor, landed in Cancún on March 4 for a long-planned vacation. Paul, 58, a Navy veteran submariner who now works as an engineer for the Michigan State Police, and Christy, 60, a retired small-business owner, spend much of their time caring for their grandchildren and were looking for a break from the Midwestern winter weather.

Lindsey Lemke Hull said that shortly after they arrived in Mexico, she got a panicked call from her stepfather: The couple had been detained at immigration and told they were being arrested on fraud charges.

Palace Elite Resorts, a Mexican hospitality company, told NBC News in a statement that it filed a complaint with the Mexican public prosecutor, which then led to the arrests of the Akeos. Paul and Christy Akeo had bought a timeshare membership with the company several years earlier, and the company alleges they defrauded it through $117,000 of chargebacks on their American Express card, in which American Express takes back funds from a vendor. 

The couple, through their lawyer and family, deny the fraud allegations.

Hull said her parents traveled to Mexico unaware that there was a warrant for their arrest.

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

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