He was sentenced to a 30-year prison term in Nicaragua following his wrongful conviction[6] for the November 2006 rape and murder of ex-girlfriend Doris Ivania Jiménez in San Juan del Sur.

[7] Opponents in Nicaragua protested against his release due to what they perceived as special consideration as an American, pressure from the United States government, and accusations that Volz's family bribed the appellate court judges.

Volz’s international business career started in 2004 when he launched and published a bilingual conscious living and smart tourism magazine called El Puente (EP) in Nicaragua.

[17] After his experience of being wrongfully imprisoned in a foreign country, he authored his memoir Gringo Nightmare: A Young American Framed for Murder in Nicaragua,[2] and became an established professional speaker.

[12][17] Referred to as its biggest victory so far,[4] the David House Agency (along with the California Innocence Project) worked on behalf of Matthew and Grace Huang, an American couple of Asian descent from Los Angeles living in Qatar, accused of fatally abusing their adopted daughter who suffered from an eating disorder and other health issues from her deprived upbringing in Ghana.

[10] Volz managed the case of Seattle resident Jason Puracal, who was wrongfully convicted of international drug trafficking and money laundering in Nicaragua and sentenced to 22 years in prison.

[5] Volz’s defense strategy included appearances on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360[19] and a ruling from the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that Puracal’s detainment was in violation of international law and demanded his immediate release.

[12] Volz also advised family members of Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary sentenced in 2013 by North Korea to 15 years of hard labor and freed in November 2014,[4] and Amanda Knox.

[5] In October 2014, Volz announced on his Twitter page[21] the launch of the David House Foundation, a nonprofit, non-partisan think tank offering research and analysis on the growing trend of politically motivated detentions of westerners and travelers in foreign countries.

[24] However, according to both associates and mobile phone records, Volz was at his home in Managua, which also served as the magazine headquarters, conducting meetings and business, including a conference call with contacts in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States, and telephone and internet logs confirm this.

[5][8] Nelson Danglas (who had received full immunity in exchange for his testimony) was the only person who testified seeing Volz in San Juan del Sur just after the time police believe Doris Jiménez was killed.

"[26] The murder and trial reportedly cracked open feelings of resentment among Nicaraguans, many of whom believed justice could be bought, saw the killing as a symptom of an invasion of foreigners seeking prime beachfront land.

[35] The San Francisco Chronicle identified the campaign as “high-tech and visible”, and was one of the first times the internet and social media had been used to raise awareness about a wrongful imprisonment case.

[36] The case received high levels of media attention, both in Spanish and English news markets, including a front-page feature in the Wall Street Journal.

The same day, the appeals court signed release papers for Volz, who left Nicaragua on Friday afternoon, said Eddie Vasquez, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department.

[7] Opponents in Nicaragua protested against his release due to what they perceived as special consideration as an American, pressure from the United States government, and accusations that Volz's family bribed the appellate court judges.

[8] Amidst the political backdrop of this case, former Communist leader Daniel Ortega had ascended back to power in Nicaragua just weeks after Doris Jiménez's death.

Volz’s lawyers argued that retrying an acquitted person violates Nicaragua's constitution and they claimed political motivation, specifically anti-American sentiment, for this action.

Publishers Weekly said, "There is much pain in Volz's memoir of being a young American in a near-perfect frame-up involving murder, tabloid headlines, police corruption, and political power plays in Nicaragua.

"[47] Outside Magazine said, “Volz walks us through his ordeal in clear, engaging prose, focusing on the trial and the challenges of daily life in rank Central American prisons.