The arrest of two Cebuano BPO executives in the US in December lifts the lid on a ‘shadow industry in the Philippines’
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Some of those interviewed for this report were either former employees of legitimate self- and vanity-publishing companies in Cebu or involved in scam operations. They requested anonymity, fearing reprisals. They allegedly contacted the authors via unsolicited phone calls or emails to build trust and then made false promises that a publisher, movie studio, or streaming service was interested in their work. They also allegedly promised huge future payouts when the deals were consummated.
It is the same playbook Arvin Jay Pasaporte is accused of running with Better Bound House. The Writer Beware website lists in its “Overseas Scams List” several entries for The Pasaporte Group, including Better Bound House, Digital Axis Media, Media Lexus, Paramount Book. and Greendot Films.Pasaporte and several co-accused were sued by Tighe Taylor, an author who lives in Los Angeles.
“We set up the business in good faith,” Pasaporte said. “I was betrayed by my partners and other executives. They set me up.” A former employee of BBE told Rappler that Pasaporte kept his companies separate but that the call center operations had more than 20 employees. “Way back in 2022 and 2023, I really had doubts. How could they give P1 million, P2 million in paid incentives? When I did the calculations, there was definitely something wrong. How could they give P2 million as an incentive commission based on a maximum of 5% of the revenue? These are huge figures,” said Cubos.“ overpromise just to be able to sell, but they are just doing a job. They are just trying to meet that ridiculous quota set for them.
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