Four individuals were arrested on Wednesday and charged with insurance fraud after they falsely claimed that their luxury car was damaged by a bear, which turned out to be a person in a costume. The suspects had filed a claim in January, saying that a bear entered their 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost while it was parked at Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino mountains, and caused damages to the interiors of the vehicle, the California Department of Insurance said, reported The Guardian.
Watch video footage here: https://t.co/HCeHhOp6q0
— CA Dept of Insurance (@CDInews) November 13, 2024
According to a BBC report, the footage submitted to insurers as evidence showed what appeared to be the animal climbing into the front seat of Rolls Royce, then clawing its way toward the back. However, the footage drew suspicion, among investigators from the insurance department, who upon executing a search warrant, discovered a bear costume in the suspect’s home.
Four arrested after videos show fake bear attacks for insurance payouts.
Operation Bear Claw reveals suspects allegedly wore bear costume to commit insurance fraud. pic.twitter.com/9mzfvaq2B3
— CA Dept of Insurance (@CDInews) November 13, 2024
Two further verified the figure if it was a real bear, and the insurance department took the footage to a biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to review. The agency concluded that the “bear” in the video clearly was a person in a costume. The fuzzy night-time video showed the bear spending about 30-45 seconds in the car, rummaging around the front and back, before falling out of the open passenger door.
Detectives also discovered two other insurance claims to two more insurance companies, involving the same individuals, with identical dates of loss and location but two different vehicles — 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E35.
The four suspects were identified as Ruben Tamrazian, 26, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39. They have all been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy after having received $141,839 in insurance payments.
