In what is possibly the strongest contender for this year’s most hilarious insurance fraud scheme, four people in Southern California have been accused of claiming their cars were trashed by a bear when, in fact, the bear was a person in a costume, officials said Wednesday.
The insurance companies were allegedly defrauded of a total of $141,839, for damages inflicted on three luxury vehicles, including a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost. The four have been arrested and charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy.
On January 28, the suspects claimed a bear entered their Rolls Royce and caused interior damage to the vehicle, stationed in Lake Arrowhead. They submitted video footage to their insurance company, which showed the alleged bear in the vehicle, the California Department of Insurance said in a press release.
“Upon further scrutiny of the video, the investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume,” the Insurance Department said. “Detectives found two additional insurance claims with two different insurance companies, for the suspects with the same date of loss and at the same location.”
The two claims also involved luxury cars, a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350, and again the suspects provided video footage of the alleged bear to their respective insurance companies.
To verify their suspicions, the California Department of Insurance called in a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to review the three bear videos. The professional concluded that it was “clearly a human in a bear suit,” according to the department.
After executing a search warrant, detectives found the bear costume in the suspects’ home.
Ruben Tamrazian, 26; Ararat Chirkinian, 39; and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, all from Glendale, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, from Valley Village, have been all been charged, the department said.
The Insurance Department has released the videos of “Operation Bear Claw” online, and one can’t but help chuckle at the alleged bear’s movements as it enters the three vehicles at separate times, all parked in the exact same location.
The footage also includes pictures of the damage to the cars’ interior.
The department also released a photo of the bear costume, with brown fur, a head shaped like a bear’s, and paws, that was found in the suspects’ home. Next to the costume were two meat claws with wooden handles, tools that would be easily capable of damaging a car interior.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting this case.