Trio sentenced over ‘bear costume’ insurance fraud scam in California | US News

Three people have been jailed for insurance fraud after claiming their cars were damaged by a bear – only for the assailant to be somebody dressed in a bear costume. 

The trio used a bear suit to stage the fake attacks inside a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes in an effort to get their paws on $141,839 (£111,788) in insurance payouts.

Home surveillance footage submitted to an insurance company shows the so-called bear entering and damaging a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost while it was parked near Lake Arrowhead, northeast of Los Angeles, on 28 January 2024.

Investigators later found two additional fraudulent claims submitted to separate insurance companies, involving different vehicles on the same date and in the same location.

Images released by the California Insurance Department (CDI) show minor scratches on the car doors and seats that were intended to pass for claw marks.

Detectives later discovered the bear suit inside one of the suspects’ homes. The department had called the investigation “Operation Bear Claw”.

Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, Ruben Tamrazian, 26, and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, all pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud, and were on Thursday each sentenced to 180 days in jail, to be served through a weekend programme.

Zuckerman and Tamrazian were each ordered to pay more than $52,000 (£39,450) in restitution. Muradkhanyan’s restitution amount was not immediately determined.

A fourth defendant, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, faces a court hearing in September.

Insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara said: “What may have looked unbelievable turned out to be exactly that – and now those responsible are being held accountable.

“My department’s investigators uncovered the facts, exposed this scam, and helped bring these defendants to justice.

“Insurance fraud is a serious crime that drives up costs for consumers, and no scheme is too outrageous for us to investigate.”

Bears do live in the Los Angeles area and have been known to break into homes and rubbish bins in search of food.

Read more from Sky News:
Attempted ‘firebomb attack’ at London synagogue
Public warned not to approach ‘dangerous’ missing man

The group’s plan unravelled when investigators showed the videos to a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Upon reviewing the footage, the biologist concluded it was “clearly a human in a bear suit”.