Four Los Angeles citizens were arrested this week after the California Department of Insurance discovered that they reportedly utilized a life-sized bear costume to manufacture attacks on their automobiles to receive a six-figure settlement.
The defendants, Ruben Tamrazian, 26; Ararat Chirkinian, 39; Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32; and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, have been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy, according to a department release issued on Wednesday. The alleged swindle cost three insurance firms $141,839.
“Operation Bear Claw” began earlier this year when one of their claims caused an insurance company to pause (or should we say, paws).
In January, the suspects claimed that a bear broke into their 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost and damaged the interior while parked at Lake Arrowhead, a San Bernardino Mountains locale noted for its huge black bear population.
The suspects sent video evidence of the alleged event to their unnamed insurance company, which the department then put online. The footage shows a furry creature entering through the side entrance, moving around the backseat, and then crawling out, leaving scratches on the leather seats and door.
“Upon further scrutiny of the video, the investigation determined the bear was a person in a bear costume,” a government spokesperson stated.
Detectives discovered two further claims involving the same suspects, from the same day and location, but with different vehicles: a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350.
The suspects also produced video recordings of the alleged incidents, which followed the same pattern as the first. However, skeptical authorities did not depend entirely on their primal instincts; they took other procedures to uncover the truth.
“The Department had a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife review the three alleged bear videos and they also opined it was a human in a bear suit,” according to the announcement.
Detectives obtained a search warrant and discovered the bear costume—complete with a fuzzy snouted head, paws, and claw-shaped metal tools—in the defendants’ residence.
The fur on the costume is light brown. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the only wild bears in the state are black, though they can also be brown or tan. (Grizzly bears in California became extinct in the 1920s, except the one portrayed on the state flag.)
The insurance department said the Glendale Police Department and the California Highway Patrol assisted in the investigation, which has been sent to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
The district attorney’s office emailed NPR on Thursday to notify us that the case is being reviewed for a filing determination, which is effectively the decision to charge individuals with a felony. After that decision is reached, court dates and appearances will be scheduled.
Reference: They told insurers a bear damaged their car. But it was a person in a costume