Kay Dean's WeRecoverData Findings
In July 2026, Kay Dean, a former federal investigator whose review-fraud work has been credited by the New York Attorney General, provided us with captures from 2019 and 2020 concerning review-exchange activity and WeRecoverData listings. This page publishes her records, her conclusions in her own words, and a plain statement of what the records do and do not show.
Who Kay Dean Is
Kay Dean is a former Special Agent of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General and the founder of Fake Review Watch, where she documents review manipulation on Google, Yelp, and Facebook.
The New York Attorney General's October 30, 2023 press release, announcing a $100,000 settlement over manipulated online reviews, states:
“Attorney General James would like to thank Kay Dean of Fake Review Watch for assisting with this investigation.”
Her investigations have been covered by Time, SFGate, NBC Bay Area, The New York Times, and France 24. Her investigation of review trading in Facebook groups was covered by the Center for Investigative Reporting's Reveal program.
How This Material Reached Us
Kay Dean contacted Louis Rossmann in July 2026 and provided a folder of captures from her investigation, with her account of what they show. The screenshots below are published as she provided them, with two disclosed exceptions: the LinkedIn capture, which we made in July 2026 from a profile URL she supplied, and our redactions, which are marked in each affected caption. We redacted face photos, contact information, and the name and address of a Los Angeles recording studio; the studio and its owner are not subjects of this story.
Records, Dated As Displayed
Each record carries its own date, as printed on the capture or as displayed at capture. Our text states only what is visible on each image; Kay Dean's conclusions about how the records relate appear separately below.
September 16 to October 1, no year shown: review-exchange posts on Facebook
In the public Facebook group “Exchange Google and Facebook Review,” an account bearing the name Joshua Gulmatico posted at least five solicitations; a fifth post header is cut off at the bottom of the capture. The four visible posts, dates as displayed:
- October 1, 12:56 AM: “Need google/yelp review. Exchange only. I have strong profile on both platform.”
- September 22, 7:40 AM: “I need google review exchange. Please hit me up! I'm online 24 hours.”
- September 20, 3:21 PM: “Let's exchange google/yelp right now! Just comment here, so I can notice you.”
- September 16, 5:13 AM: “Google/Yelp review exchange? US/Canada names/location only. Hit me up right now!”
No year is printed on the capture; Kay Dean dates the posts to 2019.
Yelp and Google reviewer profiles, dated to 2019 by Dean
A Yelp profile shows “Joshua ‘Waen’ G.” of Austin, TX, tagline “The Web Marketer.” Its photo is the same photo that appears on the 9/10/2019 Yelp review below and on the July 2026 LinkedIn capture below. A Google Maps contributor page shows a Local Guide account named Joshua Gulmatico with 5-star reviews of businesses across several continents, including “WeRecoverData Data Recovery Inc. - Novi” in Novi, Michigan, displayed as “a year ago” at capture, with no review text visible.
September 9, 2019: review-swap post in a second Facebook group
In the public group “Google/Yelp Review Exchange/Swap Group,” an account bearing the name Lauren Salvo posted:
“Looking to exchange reviews for yelp and google for my recording studio based in Los Angeles! no budget. swaps only. please DM me :)”
The first comment shown is from an account bearing the name Joshua Gulmatico: “Hi, I sent you a message.” The post does not name the studio.
September 10, 2019: Yelp and Google reviews of a recording studio
A Yelp review dated 9/10/2019 under “Joshua ‘Waen’ G.” and a Google review under Joshua Gulmatico, displayed as “5 hours ago” at capture, each give 5 stars to the same Los Angeles-area recording studio, with word-for-word identical text. Before our redactions, both captures name the same studio and the same street address.
September 10, 2019: Yelp and Google reviews with text thanking WeRecoverData
A Yelp review dated 9/10/2019 under “Lauren S.,” Philadelphia, PA, gives 5 stars to “WeRecoverData.com Data Recovery Labs - New York,” 148 Madison, New York, NY 10016. A Google review under “Salvo Songs,” displayed as “5 hours ago” at capture, gives 5 stars to a listing named “Data Recovery Services Corp.” at 340 Madison Ave #300. The text is word-for-word identical on both platforms:
“Thank you very much WeRecoverData for a 101% recovery of my external HD with a lot of wedding pictures!! It took several weeks but was totally worth it. We are extremely grateful because even though it took 3 months, the price is still the same. I will always recommend you to my co-worker who might experience the same issue with their drives.”
February 3 to May 3, 2020: Yelp's consumer-alerts history
Yelp's alert-history page for “WeRecoverData.com Data Recovery Labs - New York” shows one entry: Date “2020-02-03 - 2020-05-03,” Alert Type “Suspicious Activity,” Status “Inactive.” Yelp does not disclose what triggered this or any specific alert, and this page does not assert one.
July 2026: LinkedIn profile capture
A capture we made in July 2026, from a public LinkedIn profile URL Kay Dean supplied, lists Joshua Gulmatico, Metro Manila, Philippines, with the headline “IT Consultant at WeRecoverData.com.” It shows no employment dates; nothing in it dates the affiliation to 2019 or any other time. The profile photo is the same photo that appears on the Yelp profile above.
What These Records Do and Do Not Show
The captures above are published as they were provided to us, with our redactions marked. They show what they show: solicitation posts, reviews with identical text, reviews of WeRecoverData listings, a July 2026 LinkedIn page, and Yelp's own alert history.
They do not establish that WeRecoverData directed, solicited, paid for, or knew about any review exchange. They do not establish that Mr. Gulmatico worked for or with WeRecoverData in 2019; the LinkedIn capture is from July 2026 and shows no dates. Yelp does not disclose what triggered the 2020 alert, which has been inactive since May 3, 2020, and these records say nothing about WeRecoverData's reviews today.
Kay Dean's conclusions are hers, drawn from the records she assembled; we publish them as her stated conclusions, not as findings of our own. These are 2019 and 2020 captures except where marked; the accounts and reviews shown may since have been removed or changed.
If WeRecoverData, Mr. Gulmatico, or any person shown in these records identifies a specific inaccuracy on this page, we will correct it.
Kay Dean's Conclusions, in Her Own Words
The conclusions below are Kay Dean's, quoted with her hedges preserved and drawn from the records above. We publish them as her stated conclusions, not as findings of our own.
Dean's characterization of the 2019 activity
Relying on the records she assembled, including the solicitation posts and the LinkedIn capture, Dean states, in a characterization that is hers alone:
“Back in 2019, I documented a representative working on behalf of We Recover Data actively trading numerous Yelp and Google reviews with other businesses across the country in Facebook groups.”
The records she provided do not establish that Mr. Gulmatico worked for or with WeRecoverData in 2019; the LinkedIn capture is from July 2026 and shows no employment dates. No record on this page shows who, if anyone, he acted for in 2019.
Dean's opinion on the Google contributor page
Of the Google contributor page shown above, and relying on that capture, Dean states:
“It's my opinion that Gulmatico also used this Google profile to trade Google reviews with businesses across the globe.”
Her reconstruction of September 9 to 10, 2019
Dean's reconstruction, from the records above: on September 9, 2019, the account that posted the swap solicitation and the account bearing the name Joshua Gulmatico made contact. On September 10, 2019, the reviews of the recording studio appeared under the Joshua accounts, and the reviews thanking WeRecoverData appeared under “Lauren S.” and “Salvo Songs.” In her account this was a completed trade: she identifies the solicitation's poster as the studio's owner, the “Lauren S.” and “Salvo Songs” accounts as that person's, and the Joshua accounts as one person's.
Those account-to-person links are Dean's. The images themselves show account names, dates, and identical review texts, and nothing more.
Federal Consumer-Review Rule, Effective October 2024
Buying, selling, or trading reviews, and reviews from people with an undisclosed material connection to the business, are now prohibited by federal rule. The FTC's Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, 16 CFR Part 465, was published on August 22, 2024 and took effect on October 21, 2024. It applies to conduct after its effective date; it postdates the records on this page by about five years, and nothing on this page asserts that it applies to anything shown above.
Corrections and Related Reporting
This page quotes each capture as displayed and dates every item. If WeRecoverData, Mr. Gulmatico, or any person shown in these records identifies a specific inaccuracy on this page, we will correct it.
Related reporting from this site: our reporting on review manipulation in the data recovery industry and our page on WeRecoverData.