Bear Suit Insurance Scam Busts Trio
- Three people arrested for staging a fake bear attack using a human in a bear suit to scam insurers. - The fraud caused $141,839 in losses to insurance companies in Southern California. - Officials called the disguise 'clearly a human in a bear suit' patch.com.
Three Los Angeles County residents were sentenced after investigators said they used a bear suit to fake damage inside luxury cars and collect insurance money. (cbsnews.com) Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, Ruben Tamrazian, 26, and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud and were sentenced on April 16, 2026, to 180 days in a weekend jail program and two years of supervised probation. (cbsnews.com) California investigators said the group submitted claims in 2024 tied to a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost, a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350, with total losses to insurers of $141,839. (cbsnews.com) The case started with a January 2024 claim from Lake Arrowhead alleging a bear had climbed into the Rolls-Royce and torn up the interior. Investigators later said the same location appeared in videos tied to all three vehicles. (foxla.com) Insurance companies flagged the claims and referred them to the California Department of Insurance, which opened an investigation called Operation Bear Claw. Detectives suspected the animal in the footage was a person in costume, not a wild bear. (cbsnews.com) A biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the video and told investigators it was “clearly a human in a bear suit,” according to state regulators. Detectives later served a search warrant and found the costume at a suspect’s home, the department said. (foxla.com) The court ordered Zuckerman and Tamrazian to pay nearly $108,000 in restitution, while Muradkhanyan’s restitution amount had not yet been set when the sentences were announced. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said insurance fraud “drives up costs for consumers.” (cbsnews.com) A fourth defendant, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, still faces proceedings and is scheduled to return to court in September 2026. The bear suit that investigators say turned a wildlife claim into a fraud case is now the piece of evidence that closes the story. (foxbusiness.com)
