— A warning to Filipino job seekers and American investors || Public Advisory – Suspicious WORK FROM HOME JOB/INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY IN CEBU, Philippines

It is our legal and human right to know exactly what we are getting into—especially when it involves our hard-earned money. That’s why I am sharing what I discovered about this online work-from-home opportunity, where you are asked to pay a membership fee first in order to learn and do the job, with promises of a bigger return on investment (ROI) later.

Table of Contents

• It All Started With a TikTok
• The Site – partner.cebuva.com
• What Triggered My Suspicion
• The Red Flags ▸
  • Upfront Fees for a “Legal Binder”
  • Unrealistic Passive Income & Incentives
  • Suspicious Background of “Benjamin CFO”
• Why This Matters
• What Can You Do
• Who is Who (Benjamin CFO / Benjamin Horbowy / Benjamin Thodeus Horbowy)

It All Started With a TikTok

I first encountered CebuVA.com through a TikTok video that randomly appeared on my For You Page (FYP). The clip featured a man referring to himself as “Benjamin CFO.” [WARNING: watching this would only boost his visibility on the platform which means more chances of scamming more people –> @benjamincfo♬ original sound – Benjamin CFO link here so I’ve added a pdf file with a picture of their accounts

The video claimed that CebuVA was a “revolutionary call center powered by AI,” offering “co-ownership” for Filipino workers and “passive income opportunities.”

At first, I was like “hmmm”. The promises were bold — work-from-home, high pay, and a legal binder for only ₱200–₱500. The tone felt like a pitch you’d hear from a startup founder trying to change the world. So, I clicked the link. On the profile, it says cebuva.org.

The Site: partner.cebuva.com

The Site: partner.cebuva.com
The website I landed on was https://partner.cebuva.com, and I was immediately met with startup-style branding, stock imagery, and vague headlines like:

“Be your own boss. Own a seat. Scale your future.”

When you click “Apply Now”, it takes you to this registration form:
https://partner.cebuva.com/create-account

This form requests:

• Full name
• Email
• Referral source
• Acceptance of terms

• Agreement to a “$5 one-time onboarding” or ₱250–₱500 fee — but behind that payment, what you’re really agreeing to is alarming.
• and others which are “supposed to be registration info”

WHAT TO NOTE

The Terms and Conditions (hidden within the onboarding process at partner.cebuva.com) bind you to Indian law (Haryana) and provide no meaningful protection for Filipino nor American participants. There’s no clear company registration number, no valid Philippine business license, no privacy policy detailing how your data will be used, and no proper legal disclosure about the real nature of what you’re signing up for — whether as an affiliate, investor, or “Virtual Angel.”

Instead, you’re left agreeing to ambiguous terms that protect the operator while exposing you to financial and legal risks.

Here’s the PDF Files of the hidden Terms and Agreement and the Privacy Policy if you create an account with them.

What Triggered My Suspicion

As I dug deeper:

• I couldn’t find CebuVA registered with DTI, SEC, or BIR.
• The pitch was too polished for something so untraceable.
• Multiple Reddit threads called out the same person, Benjamin Horbowy a.k.a. “Benjamin CFO,” for similar “co-ownership” or passive income schemes going back years.
• One thing stood out: he wasn’t marketing this like a job — he was marketing it like a movement. That’s often the first sign of a scam with a script.

The Red Flags

• 🚩Fees “Legal Binder”
• 🚩Unrelaistic Passive Income and Incentives
• 🚩Suspicious Bakcground of “benjamin CFO”

Upfront Fees for a “Legal Binder”

🚩 RED FLAG #1: Upfront Fees for a “Legal Binder”
One of the first things that raised suspicion was the ₱200–₱500 “legal binder” fee required just to proceed. A real job should never charge you to apply. On Reddit, dozens of users described the same experience: payment followed by silence. Some applicants were told their accounts were still “under review” days or weeks later — classic advance-fee scam behavior.

Unrealistic Passive Income & Incentives

🚩 RED FLAG #2: Unrealistic Passive Income & Incentives
CebuVA promised payouts that were too good to be true:

• ₱100K+ in passive income after closing deals

This is a textbook manipulation tactic. The kind that plays on hope, urgency, and FOMO.

Weekend vacations, motorcycles, and even Hilux down payments

“Angel Seat” slots that guaranteed income streams

Suspicious Background of “Benjamin CFO”

🚩 RED FLAG #3: Suspicious Background of “Benjamin CFO”
I tried to verify who “Benjamin CFO” really was. Here’s what I found — all from public records and campaign filings:

Of course, none of this was disclosed on CebuVA.com or his videos.

• Full Name: Benjamin Thodeus Horbowy
• Ran (unsuccessfully) for Florida State Senate (2020) and running for Florida CFO (2026) while currently in Cebu for his “online” business
• Arrested in Leon County, Florida (2020) for trespassing
• Multiple campaign finance violations, including failure to file disclosures
• Registered and dissolved a company called Smart Green Industries, LLC in Tallahassee
• Now marketing himself as a CEO in Cebu while recruiting Filipinos online

Key Scam Indicators

Why This Matters

Too many Filipino job seekers are being targeted by opportunists who know how to talk corporate, use AI buzzwords, and manipulate financial promises. In my opinion, Benjamin CFO is one of them — and he’s getting better at hiding it.

That’s why I’m writing this: to protect others from getting tricked by what looks like opportunity but smells like a scam.

What Can You Do

What You Can Do:

• Report suspicious schemes to DTI, NBI, SEC, or your LGU
• Avoid paying ANY upfront fee for job applications
• Check companies for SEC registration and DTI listings
• Search Reddit, Trustpilot, or Google before applying

Who is Who (Benjamin CFO / Benjamin Horbowy / Benjamin Thodeus Horbowy)

Up Next – Part 2:
In Part 2, A deeper look at who Benjamin CFO really is — examining his claimed background (Stanford, CFO candidate, veteran, minister) and why it doesn’t align with the actions seen in CebuVA.

We’ll also highlight how the CebuVA.com domain is set to expire on July 25, and how this fits a pattern: associated schemes or domains linked to CebuVA have previously changed names or URLs — a common tactic used to evade accountability and confuse victims.