DETROIT (AP) A Michigan couple accused of fraud in a timeshare contract dispute and held in a Mexican prison for 32 days has returned home following negotiations between U.S. and Mexican officials.

Paul and Christy Akeo of Lansing were released from a maximum security prison in Cancun on Thursday and flown back to Michigan, attorney John Manly told The Associated Press.

Previous report: Michigan couple jailed in Mexico in timeshare dispute Michigan couple jailed in Mexico in timeshare dispute

Their release comes as the United State and Mexico are embroiled in a tariff war initiated by President Donald Trump, border security concerns and pressure to stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.

Prosecutors in the state of Quintana Roo, where Cancun is located, said in a March 15 statement that the Akeos signed a contract with the Mexico-based hospitality group Palace Co. in November 2021 to buy a timeshare club membership at a resort in the Cancun area, but that the couple subsequently defrauded the hotel chain.

Manly said his clients disputed about $116,000 in credit card charges to Palace in 2022, saying the company had breached the timeshare agreement.

American Express gave Palace the opportunity to respond," he said. "They did and American Express found for the Akeos.

Prosecutors said the company received notices from the credit card company that 13 transactions totaling $116,587 had been canceled, and the couple then shared on Facebook how they had conned the hotel group.

Manley said Christy Akeo did post on Facebook about their experience and how the charges were appealed to their credit card company, but that prosecutors had misrepresented the nature of her posts.

Reporters were on hand to record the arrest of the Akeos at Cancun International Airport on March 4, when they arrived for a vacation at a different resort, and a judge ordered them detained pending trial, Manly said.

Christy Akeo's adult children two-time national champion gymnast Lindsey Lemke Hull and Michael Lemke then posted about their parents' confinement on social media, winning the attention of U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, a Republican from Lansing, Michigan.

Barrett said he became involved around March 23 or 24.

We had some loose connections to friends of friends who kind of knew the family, Barrett said Friday. I spoke directly to the son. I escalated it up to the State Department and the White House that same day.

U.S. Consulate staff in Mexico visited the couple in prison, but there didn't seem to be any movement on their case, Barrett said.

Not satisfied with what we were hearing, I made the decision to go down there and deal with it personally, he said.

Barrett said he flew to Cancun on Wednesday where he met with the U.S. State Department consulate general. He then went to the prison to meet with the Akeos and later met with the president of Mexico's National Supreme Court of Justice.

The Akeos went before a local judge on Thursday and were released after they and the Palace Co. agreed to donate the disputed funds, Barrett said.

This essentially amounted to a contract dispute and shouldnt result in somebody being in max prison, he said.

Palace said in a statement that $116,587.84, the amount that was contested by the Akeos and refunded to them by American Express, will be donated to a bona fide established nonprofit in Mexico benefitting orphan children.

Each party regrets that this incident occurred, Palace said.

Lindsey Lemke Hull and Michael Lemke thanked Barrett, Trump and his special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, for helping to secure the release.

Through four straight weeks of fear and uncertainty, Congressman Barretts commitment to bringing our parents home safely provided us with hope and reassurance, the family said. No American should be held hostage to the demands of a private company anywhere in the world."

Lemke Hull is a survivor of Michigan State University sports medicine doctor Larry Nassar, who is serving what amounts to life in prison for possessing child pornography and sexually assaulting athletes, mostly female gymnasts.

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Associated Press journalist Lisa Adams Wagner in Atlanta contributed.

A pro-Palestinian group at the University of Michigan has been suspended for two years and will lose its funding in connection with protesters' demands for divestiture from companies doing business with Israel.

Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, also known as SAFE, was accused of violating the university's standards of conduct for recognized student organizations following a protest last spring outside a regents home and a demonstration without school permission on its Ann Arbor campus.

Tensions over the Israel-Hamas war led to emotional demonstrations on U.S. campuses, including a wave of pro-Palestinian tent encampments that led to about 3,200 arrests.

The war was sparked by an Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel in which Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for aggressive action to fight antisemitism on college campuses and promising to prosecute offenders and revoke visas for international students found to be Hamas sympathizers.

The University of Michigan's sanctions against SAFE were handed down nearly two weeks earlier, on Jan. 16. The group also is prohibited from reserving university spaces. It has until next Thursday to appeal.

The suspension could be lifted earlier than two years if the group satisfies all the sanctions against it and meets with school officials to discuss the university's decision and the awareness of policies for student organizations. However, that could occur no sooner than winter 2026.

Protests are welcome at U-M, so long as those protests do not infringe on the rights of others, significantly disrupt university events or operations, violate policies or threaten the safety of the community," the school said in a statement. "The university has been clear that we will enforce our policies related to protests and expressive activity, and that we will hold individuals and student organizations accountable for their actions in order to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all.

The Associated Press left several email messages seeking comment with SAFE and with its national umbrella organization, Students for Justice in Palestine, on Friday.

Last May, protesters wearing masks pitched tents and placed fake bloody corpses outside the Okemos home of University of Michigan board member Sarah Hubbard.

Okemos is a community 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of the Ann Arbor campus. Hubbard said at the time that about 30 people were involved in the 6 a.m. demonstration.

They approached my home and taped a letter to my front door and proceeded to erect the tents. A variety of other things were left in the front yard, Hubbard told The Associated Press. They started chanting with their bullhorn and pounding on a drum in my otherwise quiet neighborhood.

The protesters left 30 to 45 minutes later when Meridian Township police arrived, Hubbard said. No arrests were made.

A few days later police wearing helmets and face shields broke up a pro-Palestinian encampment on the Ann Arbor campus. Charges later were filed against nine people who were accused of trespassing or resisting police during the break-up of the camp.

Protesters wanted the schools endowment to stop investing in companies with ties to Israel. The university has insisted that it has no direct investments.