Here’s a really strange story (thanks to Jack for flagging this). An American couple is claiming to be jailed in Mexico over a credit card dispute. Meanwhile Mexican authorities are accusing the couple of fraud. What’s really going on here?!
In this post:
Michigan couple jailed in Cancun over resort dispute
An American couple from Michigan has been in a maximum security facility in Mexico since March 4, 2025, after being arrested at Cancun International Airport (CUN), upon arriving in the country. That’s right, the pair were arrested upon arrival in Mexico, and have now been in jail for over three weeks.
Before we get into the details, let me explain what makes this a bit murky. The couple has been able to have limited contact with the outside world, with the daughter in the United States relaying details based on short, daily phone calls with her mother. I’d have to imagine that there are some things you might not mention on a phone call that’s being monitored if you are actually guilty of anything.
According to the daughter, the arrest stems from a dispute over a timeshare, with the resort demanding $250,000 and a public apology in order for the couple to be released. That apology should come in the form of a Facebook post that’s left up for at least a week, claiming all responsibility for what happened. They also demanded an NDA be signed.
The claim is that Palace Resorts, a resort and timeshare company based in Florida, is retaliating against her parents because they disputed charges from the resort on their American Express card. The couple reportedly believed that the timeshare charges were fraudulent. As a result, they disputed the charges with American Express, and the credit card issuer took the couple’s side in the dispute.
It’s worth noting that the claims have evolved a bit in recent days. Initially, the claim was that the charges were just fraudulent, while now the claims are that the couple is “able to prove that Palace Resorts had breached their contract, and in that contract, it offered them the ability to have their money back,” which the resort is now refusing to do.
The daughter points out how horrible conditions have been in the prison, with her mom losing over 20 pounds, due to not being able to eat the prison food as a result of allergies, and no accommodations are being made. She points out how her parents are good people, and how her stepfather was a US Navy Chief Petty Officer who served the country for 21 years, and that this is no way to look after veterans.
Mexico claims couple defrauded resort of $100K+
What’s the other side to this story? Officials in Mexico have charged the couple with defrauding a resort, and both were wanted by Interpol. So they were arrested upon arrival in Mexico because their names triggered an alert when they attempted to enter the country. Note that they were vacationing in Mexico, but not specifically at the resort that was involved in their dispute.
According to the police, the couple signed a contract in November 2021 to purchase a timeshare to a hotel chain club, which granted them benefits of various rates and products.
They left a credit card on file, to be used for monthly payments. Later, between August and November 2022, the hotel company received notifications from American Express that the couple had canceled 13 credit card transactions, totaling $116,587.
Authorities also claim that the couple wrote on Facebook about how they committed the fraud against the hotel. A judge in Cancun has ordered the couple to remain in custody for the duration of their legal proceedings.
Let me emphasize that the couple’s daughter claims this is all “completely false news,” and is intended to “defame and slander” her parents, and she claims they “have all proof necessary to show” that these are lies. However, on her Facebook post intended to draw attention this, she rarely actually answers the questions people have (like proof of how the resort violated the contract), but instead responds to those who question what happened by stating the following over and over:
can you please forward me the information of the legal representation you have personally hired that has provided you the factual evidence for this case of my parents? can you please show me where that legal representation received permission to also represent my parents?? because that would actually be the only way you would be receiving FACTUAL evidence of this case. It appears you may have just hired the internet and wanted to sound important like you know the details. I could be wrong however – so if you could please provide me with the name of your legal team you hired to work this case directly, I would appreciate it. thanks!
If you’re looking for help from the public, that might not be the best way to go about it, and get sympathy.
I’m not sure what to make of this situation?
Look, timeshares are definitely a bit predatory, and if you’re going to ask me to side with either a friendly-looking older couple from Michigan or a timeshare company, I’ll almost always go with the former.
That being said, the more I read about this, the less sure I am. There’s talk of how the woman was bragging on Facebook about her fraud, though I haven’t been able to find that. Based on what I’ve been reading, those discussions reportedly took place in a private Facebook group.
We’re talking about 13 credit card transactions totaling $116,587. Either this couple massively got screwed by fraud, or they signed up for a timeshare package that includes “the works,” because that’s a lot more expensive than your typical timeshare package.
In a foreshadowing that almost seems like it’s out of The White Lotus, at the same time that these charges were being disputed (October 2022), the mother posted the below quote on her Facebook page, about how you should travel while you’re able to, and “don’t worry about the money, just make it work.”
What I find most telling here is how the couple’s defense has evolved. It seems they’re not disputing the legitimacy of the charges as such, but instead, are claiming that they were no longer on the hook because the timeshare company breached the contract:
- Timeshare agreements, much like airline contracts of carriage, are typically written in a very one-sided way, rarely giving individuals an easy way out
- The fact that they signed up for a timeshare that would’ve included 13+ charges of well over $10K each over a short period of time makes me skeptical about their intention to continue paying those costs, since that’s a lot of money
The more I read about this, the more I wonder if there was some scheming going on here, and if the couple was thinking “well let’s sign up for a package that gets us a lot of travel quickly, and then we can always get out of it by disputing the charge,” thinking they’ll never get caught, since it’s Mexico. Furthermore, while not paying your timeshare dues is a civil matter in the United States, perhaps it’s different in Mexico.
Bottom line
An American couple has been jailed in Mexico for weeks, after they were arrested upon arrival. The couple claims to have simply disputed fraudulent charges from a timeshare company, and states that American Express sided with them. Meanwhile the Mexican government claims that the couple defrauded the resort, and the wife even bragged about the fraud on Facebook.
I’m not sure what to think of this, but I’ll certainly be keeping an eye on how this evolves.
What do you make of this strange situation?
Some of the reporting I'm seeing says they're far from the only ones to run into issues with the company in question. Of course, it's a timeshare company, so that feels almost redundant.
(With Palace being based in the US, I kind-of wish there were some sort of bar on "US company using overkill charges in foreign court to coerce people into doing things when all parties are American".)
I'll point out that if the...
Some of the reporting I'm seeing says they're far from the only ones to run into issues with the company in question. Of course, it's a timeshare company, so that feels almost redundant.
(With Palace being based in the US, I kind-of wish there were some sort of bar on "US company using overkill charges in foreign court to coerce people into doing things when all parties are American".)
I'll point out that if the issue was/is folks canceling within the contract period, but after travel has happened, then the problem is with the company's contract(s) and the company should strongly consider just...I dunno, refusing to deal with people known to do that sort of thing? Cancel their contract, civilly trespass them from all company properties and put them on a blacklist, and call it a day.
The fact tere was an Interpol warrant for them is quite telling though...
"stepfather was a US Navy Chief Petty Officer who served the country for 21 years, and that this is no way to look after veterans" - LOL, is she aware that Mexico is not in the US?
Maximum security prison over an economic dispute is of course ridiculous. There must be more to the story.
This is an absolute shame! I can't believe this isnt headline news? Yet, every tom dick and harry who get deported seem to have some news story about what a great person they are and they have no criminal record. Yet, we have two Americans, who are being shammed and detained in Mexico WITHOUT bond or due process. And somehow people still vacation there...
Daughter’s obfuscations, inconsistencies and deflections sound like MAGA.
Couple’s textbook plagiarism of Dear Leader by denying payment for a service rendered smells like MAGA.
Seems like MAGA to me. But, suspending disbelief and returning to a principled stance, sure… it seems like they are being ransomed via criminal charges instead of more appropriate civil charges.
I wonder how the Mexican government could ever have been pushed to that strategy?!
In the end, I...
Daughter’s obfuscations, inconsistencies and deflections sound like MAGA.
Couple’s textbook plagiarism of Dear Leader by denying payment for a service rendered smells like MAGA.
Seems like MAGA to me. But, suspending disbelief and returning to a principled stance, sure… it seems like they are being ransomed via criminal charges instead of more appropriate civil charges.
I wonder how the Mexican government could ever have been pushed to that strategy?!
In the end, I couldn’t care less about these two. They returned to the scene of the crime, a foreign country notorious for intricately different laws, and thought they wouldn’t be held responsible. They will be a drain on America’s diplomatic resources and the national capital spent clearing up this $h!tstorm will be an embarrassing waste.
Oh well, I guess DOGE could lay off some more VA medical staff.
I’m sure it’s an awful situation but quoting the daughter saying her parents are “good people” isn’t really newsworthy, and nor do I see how the gentleman’s previous work experience has any baring on the matter.
I mean, the daughter claims that her parents are good people. I mean you can be a good dad, caring for your family, and still be a criminal — or worse: a democrat.
a (casual) search indicates that Mexico does not allow imprisonment for debts, as in the US it is entirely a civil matter, so it must be the claim of fraud that has them in jail... it still feels wrong regardless of any possible Facebook bragging but you are subject to the laws of wherever you happen to be and those can be quite harsh. if they were planning on messing with the timeshare company they would have been smart to do their due diligence.
Not wise to play these types of 'games' in Mexico. Mexico has entered the 21st century. Immigration is computerized now so they can track just about anything, including criminal charges filed against you (whether legitimate or not). Traveling back to Mexico was not a good idea for this couple. It's a known fact that the courts in Mexico move at a snail's pace, so it's time for them to 'pony up' and hire a good...
Not wise to play these types of 'games' in Mexico. Mexico has entered the 21st century. Immigration is computerized now so they can track just about anything, including criminal charges filed against you (whether legitimate or not). Traveling back to Mexico was not a good idea for this couple. It's a known fact that the courts in Mexico move at a snail's pace, so it's time for them to 'pony up' and hire a good bilingual Mexican lawyer who understands real estate/timeshare contracts in Mexico!
And then write a Facebook post about it, ha!
This is a contract dispute and should be addressed as a civil matter; I agree that this couple sounds a bit shady but I don't see criminal fraud from the details available here, just aggressive dealing and very likely a breach of contract on one side, though it's impossible to say whether that was on the couple's side or not.
Sounds a lot more like theft of services to me, which is a crime.
I hestitate to comment - and don't know any additional details except thos that Ben put out. But there are a ton of timeshare frauds from Mexico. Here is one report in USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2024/02/22/thousands-of-americans-fall-prey-to-mexican-cartel-cjng-timeshare-scam/72695295007/
Anecdotally, I had a good friend and resonably smart person that was taken advantage of a couple of years back. I know of it because he wanted to temporarily borrow $200,000. He was not willing to share the complete...
I hestitate to comment - and don't know any additional details except thos that Ben put out. But there are a ton of timeshare frauds from Mexico. Here is one report in USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2024/02/22/thousands-of-americans-fall-prey-to-mexican-cartel-cjng-timeshare-scam/72695295007/
Anecdotally, I had a good friend and resonably smart person that was taken advantage of a couple of years back. I know of it because he wanted to temporarily borrow $200,000. He was not willing to share the complete details with me - but what I got out of it was that he had bought a time share somewhere in Mexico a few years previously. He was entually approached by a company that told him that they wanted to buy it from him, and he was going to get a nice profit over what he had originally paid. He agreed, and signed paperwork and was waiting for the cash to be deposited in a New York bank. Then he was told that the sale was held up until the "taxes" had been paid (and they were a significant amount), and he was liable for them by the paper work he had signed. But he would supposedly get the money he paid for "Taxes" back when a new owner bought it so it seemed like a net $0.00. They gave him the contact of a New York bank and he arranged to wire the money for "Taxes". They told him that wire was supposed to be broken into two wire transfers. He made the transfers and was then told that his wires had caught the attention of some government agency (I think it was supposedly a Mexican Government Agency) and he was now liable for a large penalties due to tax fraud, wire fraud and an attempt to launder money. Then he was contacted by some supposedly Government representative (!) who told him that he needed to pay this large amount to avoid prosecution by Interpol. He reviewed all of the communications with a lawyer, and the lawyer told him that the contracts were binding but he could not gaurantee that he would ever get his money back because the contracts were with Mexican entities that could simply disappear. He kept thinking he was going to get all of his money back once the timeshare was sold. And the fees continued to come in since he still owned the timeshare. Eventually, he gave his approval for the conveyance of the title to settle taxes, and did not recieve payment. He backed out of the entire transaction and lost all most all of his money.
So I tend to believe that the Michigan couple may have been the subject of a scam. The lesson to me is that you need good legal representation when dealing with these types of deals that are beyond your expertise - before you make any commitment. To me, it seems to me that it would also be smart to deal only with reputible, US-based companies (if you are a US citizen) such as Marriott or Hilton.
Should have bought a timeshare in Nigeria, it would have been guaranteed by a prince.
Ha ha ha!!
Here is the Phone number of Palace Resorts. call them and find out!
Palace Resorts- 1-800-986-5632
Is that 1-800-Kars4Kids?
Was it an Interpol Red Notice or just a diffusion? I doubt very much Interpol is involved here. But that their names were flagged in Mexico means the aggrieved resort has considerable pull.
If you get out of a $117k debt in a foreign country, why are you ever going back there?
Because their daughter is still in America, despite successfully escaping to Mexico.
Ha ha ha!!
Anyone else think it's hilarious that the resort wants a Facebook post as an apology?!?! Haha
The cardholder will automatically win a chargeback if the other side doesn't dispute it, that's not an Amex thing. If they did respond and Amex still sided with the cardholder for that amount ... I mean, I know Amex is generous to cardholders but as someone who has dealt with chargebacks from the business side, it still seems like...
Anyone else think it's hilarious that the resort wants a Facebook post as an apology?!?! Haha
The cardholder will automatically win a chargeback if the other side doesn't dispute it, that's not an Amex thing. If they did respond and Amex still sided with the cardholder for that amount ... I mean, I know Amex is generous to cardholders but as someone who has dealt with chargebacks from the business side, it still seems like the resort was probably doing shady things they couldn't back up with proper documentation. Scammers hate getting scammed themselves, so the retribution angle makes sense to me.
I worked for American Express Card Member Services in the VIP Card Member division. Think Black Card... Amex does not take disputes lightly. If they sided with this couple there was Avery good reason for that.
Kind of scary that this is happening. I left a credit card for time share presentation with a few resorts. I noticed after I said no 2 of the 3 times they give you back the copy of you cc and passport.
From what I read, I understand that the wife had a history of making posts like how one could buy a timeshare, then travel, and at the contractual deadline state "oh, I don't like this anymore" then either get a refund or file a chargeback.
And just about all of us know how often Amex sides with its cardholder.... nearly always. Especially when the other party doesn't submit information. This is why a lot...
From what I read, I understand that the wife had a history of making posts like how one could buy a timeshare, then travel, and at the contractual deadline state "oh, I don't like this anymore" then either get a refund or file a chargeback.
And just about all of us know how often Amex sides with its cardholder.... nearly always. Especially when the other party doesn't submit information. This is why a lot of places won't take Amex.
The family in question has an interesting history... they have some money from the whole Michigan gymnastics coach scandal (the daughter was one who spoke out and got a huge settlement).
People don't seem to realize that, shock of shocks, the legal system in other countries doesn't work the same as the US. They were probably jailed so they didn't flee the country and never come back. Taking a passport from someone is no good if their desire is to return to their nation of citizenship (except for a handful of places). And well, sorry, but in a country where one is guilty until proven innocent following the Napoleonic code.... well that's a crappy place to be arrested. And not every country lets its prisoners have phone calls. Or special dietary requirements for food.
So if Amex asks a company to provide proper proof to contradict what the cardholder is claiming and it doesn't do so, Amex is supposed to do what? Still side with the company? You are joking, right?
And that is not the reason why many companies do not accept Amex btw.
Very hard to determine what is what in this story. But to all the people that babble on and on about how horrible the US is and our "oppressive justice system" here you go.
Oppressive indeed.
We can't even lock up people who committed treason and leak classified information.
Unless you're a whistleblower or you own a gun and lost a laptop.
Wait, the latter also got away.
Why do people always bring up veterans as if they are supposed to get special treatment? You served your country. Great. Thank you. Is the Dad supposed to get a special jail cell or a pass or something?
Also, as if [insert foreign country] cares about you serving in the military for the United States???
Imagine someone who's done national service in any of the dozens of countries that still mandate it invoking their veteran status as a way to obtain special treatment in the USA.
@Throwawayname
How would USA treat Ivan, a veteran who served in Grozny?
I think this is one of those American things us non-americas will never understand
Well, it got that Navy officer Alkonis out of prison despite him committing involuntary manslaughter. You can get the dumbest MFers in Congress to cheerlead hard for you if you served, and sometimes that's all that's needed for a foreign country to hand you over.
No clue who's telling the truth, but I tend to think if one leaves a credit card on file and agrees to a timeshare, there's a good likelihood that it's a legit claim by the timeshare company that they didn't get paid and chargebacks were filed.
Why would a company want negative publicity with a customer who paid their bills?
Now change the narratives to a Mexican couple committed fraud in the US....
I am pretty sure most Americans would be in favor of death penalty. The world needs to start treating Americans they way the treat other nations.
I...rather doubt it. Also, Palace is based in Florida, so the claim is actually "US couple defrauded US company by filing a claim with another US company, but since some element of it took place in Mexico they filed their case there rather than pursuing a US civil claim (which would probably have been laughed out of court)".
It /sounds/ like the family should probably be pursuing an extortion case against Palace.
Interpol? I would think Interpol would (and should) have bigger fish to fry.
That said, grabbing some innocent fool who's entering your country and tossing them in jail for a few months seems to be the latest fad. Might be a bit of retaliation going on here.
6 figure credit card fraud is a big deal.
You think 6 figure credit card fraud is a big deal, worthy of invoking Interpol? Compared to everything else that goes on every day around the world? Seriously? What world do you live in?
Not Interpol perhaps, but certainly the FBI. It would be considered wire fraud which is part of their purview.
The lesson? ONLY do business with US-based hotels and chains. At least you have recourse in US courts.
But it clearly says this company is based in Florida.... ohhhhh
I have a more compelling case thats more proovable in my favor. So yes an attorney would be nice. Woll not post my name just yet. Don't want to allow my laundry to be public. But my (our case) is compelling
I'm assuming the resort was in Mexico but the timeshare company is based in the US.
The claim is that Palace Resorts, a resort and timeshare company based in Florida, is retaliating against her parents because they disputed charges from the resort on their American Express card.
Oh this one is spicy. Can't wait to read how it all shakes out!