Operation 'Bear Claw:' Person in bear costume allegedly attacked vehicles for insurance payouts
11/14/2024 11:46 am PST
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. (TCN) -- Authorities recently arrested four individuals on suspicion of lying about a bear damaging their vehicles in an insurance fraud scheme.
According to the California Department of Insurance, on Jan. 28, 26-year-old Ruben Tamrazian, 39-year-old Ararat Chirkinian, 32-year-old Vahe Muradkhanyan, and 39-year-old Alfiya Zuckerman claimed a bear entered their 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost in Lake Arrowhead, causing damage to the inside of the vehicle. They provided video footage of the incident to their insurance company, who suspected fraud and reported it to the California Department of Insurance.
The department of insurance looked into the video and "determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume." They posted a compilation of the footage in their release.
Detectives learned the suspects made two additional insurance claims with two different insurance companies for the same date and location for a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350. In those claims, they also allegedly used a bear costume to fake the vehicle attacks and gave the insurance companies video footage to prove their case.
According to the department of insurance, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist reviewed the footage and also determined that the bear was actually a person in a costume. Detectives executed a search warrant and located the bear costume in the suspects’ residence.
Tamrazian, Chirkinian, Muradkhanyan, and Zuckerman, all from the Los Angeles County area, face charges of insurance fraud and conspiracy.
In total, the department of insurance says the insurance companies were defrauded of more than $141,000 as a result of the suspects’ crimes.
MORE:
