Costa Rica's Only Full-Time American-Owned Investigation Agency
About Cody L. Gear & Associates
Permanent Resident Investigator · Established 1997 · San José, Costa Rica
There is a version of private investigation in Costa Rica that consists of a website, a foreign phone number, and an investigator who has never set foot in the country they claim to serve. I know it well because I have spent 27 years being the alternative to it.
I arrived in Costa Rica in 1997 and never left. I became a permanent resident, learned the country from the inside — its legal system, its bureaucratic architecture, its geography, its culture, and the specific ways that foreign nationals get into trouble here and need professional help getting out of it. That is not something you acquire from a distance. It accumulates across decades of cases, relationships, and firsthand experience.
My name is Cody L. Gear. I am a Certified Fraud Examiner, a Juris Doctor, a Certified Court Mediator in the State of Florida, a former police chief who commanded two separate municipal departments, a former detective, and a qualified expert witness in civil and criminal court proceedings. Before establishing operations in Costa Rica, I conducted investigative work in support of legal counsel at several of Orlando's most prominent law firms. I have been a permanent resident of Costa Rica since 1997.
That combination — law enforcement command, legal-sector investigative experience, fraud examination certification, court mediator designation, expert witness qualification, and 27 years of on-the-ground Costa Rica experience — is not something a competitor website can approximate. It is the foundation of every case I accept and every report I deliver.
Credentials and Professional Background
The investigation industry in Costa Rica has no mandatory licensing requirement. Anyone can advertise investigation services. The burden of verifying who you are actually hiring falls entirely on the client. These credentials exist precisely to eliminate that uncertainty.
The CFE designation is awarded by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the world's largest anti-fraud organization. Earning it requires demonstrated proficiency in fraud prevention and deterrence, financial transactions, fraud investigation, and legal elements of fraud. It is not a self-reported credential — it is awarded after examination and subject to continuing professional education requirements. For clients dealing with financial fraud, corporate misconduct, or asset concealment, the CFE designation means the investigator handling their case understands fraud at a structural and evidentiary level, not just as a surface concept.
I hold a Juris Doctor degree from Barry University School of Law. I am not licensed to practice law in Costa Rica or the United States, and I do not provide legal advice or legal representation. What the JD means practically is that I understand how evidence is used in legal proceedings, how attorneys evaluate investigative findings, what documentation standards courts expect, and how an investigation needs to be structured to produce results that are actually useful in a legal context. That understanding shapes every case I run — particularly those where the client's situation may ultimately involve litigation, divorce proceedings, business disputes, or criminal matters.
Florida court mediator certification requires formal training in dispute resolution, negotiation, and the legal framework governing mediation proceedings. For clients whose cases involve contested evidence, disputed findings, or situations where both parties are represented by counsel, working with an investigator who understands the mediation process — and how investigative findings function within it — is a meaningful practical advantage.
I served as police chief in two separate municipalities. As police chief, I oversaw criminal investigations, evidence collection and chain of custody protocols, personnel management, inter-agency coordination, and the full operational and administrative demands of a law enforcement organization. That experience is the foundation of how I approach every investigation — not just the fieldwork, but the documentation standards, the legal compliance, and the professional discipline that makes evidence usable when it counts.
Detective experience means understanding investigations from the ground up — surveillance, interviewing, evidence collection, case building, and the patient, methodical work of turning observations into documented findings. Command experience tells you how investigations should be managed. Detective experience tells you how they actually work in the field. Both inform how I conduct every case I take on in Costa Rica.
I have provided expert witness testimony in both civil and criminal court proceedings. Expert witness designation requires courts to recognize an individual's qualifications as exceeding the general knowledge of a layperson in a specific field — in my case, investigation methodology, evidence collection, and fraud examination. This experience is directly relevant to clients whose cases may involve legal proceedings: I have stood in a courtroom, been qualified as an expert, and authenticated evidence under cross-examination. Very few investigators offering Costa Rica services can make that statement.
"The credentials exist not to impress but to protect — to ensure that what I collect holds up when it matters, and that I can stand behind it in any proceeding where it is challenged."
— Cody L. Gear, CFELegal Sector Experience Before Costa Rica
Before establishing permanent operations in Costa Rica, I conducted investigative work in support of legal counsel at several prominent Orlando, Florida law firms. This experience shaped how I approach case documentation, evidence standards, and client communication — all of which were informed by working alongside attorneys who needed investigation findings that could be used, not merely reported.
- Meyers, Mooney & Meyers, P.A. Orlando, Florida — investigative support for civil and legal matters
- Alan B. Robinson, Esq. Orlando, Florida — investigative support services
- Akerman Senterfitt Orlando, Florida — contract investigative work; one of Florida's largest and most established law firms
Working inside law firms as an investigator — not as an attorney — means understanding precisely what legal counsel needs from an investigation and how to deliver it in a form that is admissible, defensible, and useful. That perspective does not come from fieldwork alone. It comes from years spent inside the legal process, understanding the standards that courts and opposing counsel will apply to everything you collect.
Costa Rica Operations — Roberto Romero Mora & Associates
In Costa Rica, I operate in partnership and professional association with Roberto Romero Mora & Associates, a Costa Rican legal and investigation firm. This partnership provides clients with both the American investigative perspective and direct access to Costa Rican legal expertise — a combination that is particularly valuable in cases involving local law, court proceedings, asset location, or situations that may require legal action within Costa Rica's judicial system.
Roberto Romero Mora & Associates — San José, Costa Rica
Costa Rican legal counsel and investigative partnership providing local legal expertise, bilingual professional services, and direct engagement with Costa Rica's judicial and regulatory systems. This association ensures that clients receive both the American investigative discipline Cody L. Gear & Associates is built on and the on-the-ground legal access that complex Costa Rica cases often require.
Why Permanent Residency Matters
I have been a permanent resident of Costa Rica since 1997. That is not a claim most Costa Rica investigation services can make because most do not have a permanent on-the-ground investigator. They operate remotely, subcontract locally, or send personnel in as needed. I live here. I know this country the way residents know it — through years of daily experience, not through periodic visits.
Permanent residency means I have relationships with people and institutions across the country. It means I understand how things actually work here, not just how they are supposed to work. It means when I tell a client that something is or is not possible in Costa Rica, I am speaking from 27 years of direct operating experience, not from research or secondhand knowledge.
I am American, fully bilingual in English and Spanish, and I maintain the ability to enter the United States — which matters for clients who need coordination between Costa Rica operations and U.S.-based legal or personal situations.
Investigation Services
Cody L. Gear & Associates provides professional investigation services throughout Costa Rica, with extended operations in Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador. Every case is handled personally — not subcontracted, not delegated to personnel whose qualifications I cannot verify.
Infidelity & Surveillance
Spousal surveillance, relationship investigations, and documentation of conduct for legal or personal purposes throughout Costa Rica.
Fraud Investigation
Financial fraud, corporate misconduct, asset concealment, and business fraud examined by a Certified Fraud Examiner.
Real Estate & Investment
Due diligence on Costa Rica properties and investment opportunities. Title verification, developer background, and market fraud identification.
Locate Investigations
Locating individuals throughout Costa Rica — missing persons, debtors, former partners, and persons of interest in legal matters.
Legal Support
Investigative support for attorneys and legal proceedings — evidence collection, documentation, and expert witness services.
Corporate & Background
Pre-employment screening, corporate partner due diligence, and background investigation on individuals operating in Costa Rica.
A Note on Transparency
The investigation industry in Costa Rica has no licensing body, no mandatory credentialing, and no enforcement mechanism that prevents an unqualified person from advertising investigation services and collecting retainers. The burden of due diligence falls entirely on the client.
I hold the credentials I claim. The CFE designation is verifiable through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. The JD is from Barry University School of Law. The law firm experience is a matter of record. The police chief and detective service are verifiable through public records. The expert witness testimony is documented in court proceedings. I do not publish my photograph — a deliberate operational security decision that protects my ability to conduct surveillance effectively — but every credential I present is real and verifiable.
That transparency is the foundation of every client relationship I build. People sharing sensitive situations with an investigator they have never met deserve to know exactly who they are trusting and why that trust is warranted.
