4 People Arrested After Allegedly Faking Bear Attacks Defrauding Insurance Companies Of $141,839

The four suspects were charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy for claiming that a bear damaged their vehicles, but video shows it was a human in a bear costume.

An insurance scam was revealed when four people were arrested after allegedly staging a bear attack with the intent to defraud an insurance company. It was shown that they allegedly filmed someone wearing a bear costume breaking into their cars to claim damages.

According to the California Department of Insurance (CDI), four people from Los Angeles, Ruben Tamrazian, 26, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, all hailing from Glendale, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village, were charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy for claiming that a bear damaged their vehicles. Authorities found out that there was no bear involved, just someone posing as one in a bear costume.

In an investigation dubbed Operation Bear Claw, CDI initially suspected fraud when the people charged made a claim that a bear got into their 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost and caused damage inside the vehicle. The incident took place earlier this year on January 28 in Lake Arrowhead. After submitting a video to the CDI, the agency was suspicious of the alleged bear seen in the video.

After looking further into the video submitted, the agency determined that it was a person in a bear costume. During the investigation, detectives discovered two other insurance claims, with two different insurance companies making similar claims and the same people at the helm. They also claimed the exact date and location for those claims.

The fraudulent claims detailed two vehicles: a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350. Videos of the same “bear” were used with the same claim as the initial one submitted to CDI as “proof” of the culprit damaging the vehicles.

Investigators from CDI had a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife review all three alleged bear videos. They determined that it was not a bear but a human in a bear suit. A search warrant was produced, and the bear costume was found there after searching the suspects’ home.

The insurance companies were defrauded of $141,839 as determined by the CDI.