Bear Suit Insurance Scam Busts Three in LA
- Three people arrested for staging a fake bear attack using a human in a bear suit for insurance fraud. - Scheme caused $141,839 in losses to insurance companies. - Officials called the disguise 'clearly a human in a bear suit.' (patch.com)
Three Los Angeles-area residents were sentenced after prosecutors said they used a bear costume to fake damage inside luxury cars and collect insurance money. (apnews.com) California investigators said the scheme began with a claim that a bear entered a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost in Lake Arrowhead on Jan. 28, 2025, then expanded to matching claims tied to a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350. (insurancejournal.com) The California Department of Insurance said the false claims produced $141,839 in losses, and detectives later found the bear costume during a search of the suspects’ home. (insurancejournal.com) The case moved from an odd claim to a criminal investigation when an insurer flagged the footage and state investigators opened “Operation Bear Claw.” A biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the videos and said the animal was “clearly a human in a bear suit.” (nbclosangeles.com) Investigators also said the scene lacked the traces a real bear would usually leave behind, including saliva, urine and hair, and that the scratches did not match real bear claw marks. (nbclosangeles.com) Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village, and Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale, each pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud and each received 180 days in jail and two years of supervised probation. Zuckerman was ordered to pay $55,360 in restitution, and Tamrazian was ordered to pay $52,268. (insurancejournal.com) Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale, also pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud and received 180 days in jail and two years of supervised probation, with restitution still to be determined. (insurancejournal.com) A fourth defendant, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale, is scheduled to return to court in September, according to the California Department of Insurance case update. (insurancejournal.com) The case is being prosecuted by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, closing a fraud investigation that started with a supposed bear in a Rolls-Royce and ended with a costume seized as evidence. (nbclosangeles.com)
