U.S. private investigator deported from Costa Rica claims he was set up

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A U.S. private investigator who was deported from Costa Rica after being detained by immigration authorities in the Central American nation claims that he was set up by officials in Costa Rica and a man he was investigating.

Doug Smith, the owner of “WillSpy Private Investigation and Security Services,” eventually returned to Central America after being deported to the U.S. He said he never faced charges in the 2013 case. Costa Rican newspapers at the time, citing immigration officials, widely reported that he was charged with immigration fraud.

But Smith disputes the charges. A spokesman for the Costa Rican immigration authority and officials from the country’s prosecutor’s office did not return repeated calls and emails over several days seeking comment.

Smith was eventually deported because he had failed to renew his 90-day tourist visa. But he claims the government meddled with his immigration paperwork to make it seem like he was breaking the law. And, he claims, someone broke into his home to steal his passport, marriage license and cash to make it seem like he had no official documents.

“I’m a gringo in a foreign country with no documents and no money,” Smith told Fox News Latino.

Stories by the Costa Rican media two years ago said Smith was arrested after a former client accused him of fraud.

“There were never any charges on me then or now,” Smith said. “They did deport me but I am 100 percent clean everywhere and in every country… there were never any charges.”

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