Video: Bear costume used in bizarre insurance fraud scheme, officials say
Four Los Angeles County residents are accused of fraud after it was determined video of a "bear" that they claimed had damaged their three luxury cars in San Bernardino County actually depicted a person in costume, authorities said.
The suspects were arrested Wednesday following an investigation by the California Department of Insurance, according to the agency.
The purported bear attacks, which the defendants provided video footage of, took place on Jan. 28 in Lake Arrowhead, CDI officials said in a written statement.
"The suspects claimed... a bear entered their 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost and caused interior damage to the vehicle," according to the statement. "They provided video footage to their insurance company, which showed the alleged bear in the vehicle."
But investigators quickly became suspicious.
"Upon further scrutiny of the video, the investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume," the statement said.
As they looked deeper, officials said they learned of two additional insurance claims with different companies related to purported bear damage caused at the same time and place as the Rolls Royce. The additional claims involved a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350.
In video provided by the defendants to the other two insurance companies to back their claims, "the suspects again appeared to use a bear costume to make it appear that a bear also entered and damaged those vehicles," the CDI statement said.
Detectives called in a California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist to review the videos.
"They also opined it was clearly a human in a bear suit," the statement said. "After executing a search warrant, detectives found the bear costume in the suspects’ home."
Officials alleged the suspects collected a total of $141,839 in fraudulent insurance payouts.
Ruben Tamrazian, 26, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale, as well as Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village, each face charges of insurance fraud and conspiracy as a result of the investigation, dubbed, "Operation Bear Claw," according to CDI.
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According to Los Angeles County booking records, bail for Tamrazian was set at $85,000 pending court proceedings. Chirkinian and Muradkhanyan were being held in lieu of $30,000 bail each.
Booking information for Zuckerman was not available Wednesday evening.
The case is being prosecuted by the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Video: Bear suit used in bizarre insurance fraud scheme, police say
