Brican America, LLC - Scam or Misunderstanding?

     Brican America, LLC (Incorporated 2006) designed and sold a signage presentation solution called Exhibeo, which according to the corporate website is a system that included "everything you would require in order to display sophisticated clinical messages and promotional materials in a modernistic format."

     The basic Exhibeo system included "complete training manuals, a total computer system including a Bluetooth remote mouse, a digital camera and software to personalize your own messages, as well as the most-comprehensive optometry library in existence."

Legal Problems

     According to the Charlip Law Group, a firm involved with a consumer class action against Brican America and/or Professional Solutions Financial Services (PSFS), the systems "...were largely significantly overpriced, however Brican America was able to sell the systems as a lease transaction through a practice that many of their customers have said was misleading and deceptive.

What Brican America representatives did and what was the company sales approach and marketing scheme was to promise prospective customers that the systems would not cost them anything because Brican would enter into a marketing agreement that would generate monthly payments equivalent to the lease payments the customers would be obligating themselves to pay. Additionally, Brican promised, say these customers, that upon demand, it would cancel or 'buy-back' their leases."

     PSFS sued Brican in 2009 asking for $38 million alleging that Brican did not disclose the "exit clause" and was therefore not obligated to honor it. The suit was dismissed in February 2010, with undisclosed terms. PSFS stopped buying Brican leases saying they were overcommitted in the amount of Brican leases held. In January 2010, Brican announced that it would no longer be able to honor its customer marketing agreements due to a lack of funds and "market conditions."

     On July 13, 2010, an involuntary petition for liquidation under Chapter 7 was filed against Brican America, LLC in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of Florida, Miami (source).  However, the majority of the leases for the Exhibeo equipment are not held by Brican America, LLC, but rather by Professional Solutions Financial Services, a leasing company who customers allege is demanding they continue to make their lease payments or face collections activities.

Customer Complaints

     Customer complaints about Brican began to emerge after Brican stopped making the promised marketing agreement payments. These complaints allege that Brican would lease the "overpriced" equipment for upwards of $29,000 and promise the customers that the estimated $500 per month payments would be covered by a third party marketing agreement with a company that was providing LASIK surgery. Brican would sell the leases to another leasing company and use the estimated $24,000 in cash to enrich Brican America's owners and fund the operation of selling the system to more customers. Some complaints allege that the Brican American Exhibeo product was merely a Ponzi scheme, in that they sold a product while promising to return nearly the full cost of the product back to the purchaser over time via third party marketing agreements. Brican asserts that it is a misrepresentation of the facts.

Brican America Equipment Value

     JSCS has conducted site surveys of Exhibeo systems in optometry offices in San Diego County and found that they included a Dell or Shuttle brand computer and a 42" plasma HDTV display, along with a local keyboard, monitor and mouse for use in making presentation settings in the Exhibeo software that was installed on the computers. The computers were in one instance, capable of displaying one signage presentation, similar to a slide show, to the 42" plasma display and a separate, lower resolution presentation on the local monitor. JSCS estimates the total value of the hardware provided to be less than $3000. This estimate does not including the presentation software, which there is no way to determine its fair value. However, there are presentation solutions available that provide a greater level of control and flexibility at very little cost, and in some cases, for free. There is also some value to the preformatted content library, much of which appears to be from vendors such as eyeglasses frame and lens manufacturers and other parties interested in selling and promoting thier products and services optometrists and their patients.