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The Guardian World1 min read
Three people sentenced to jail for bear-suit insurance scam in California
TL;DR
Three individuals in Los Angeles were sentenced to jail for staging an insurance fraud scheme involving a bear costume. They filed a false claim for damage to a Rolls-Royce, claiming a bear attacked it, but the 'bear' was actually a person in costume.
Key points
- Three individuals sentenced to jail for insurance fraud
- Fraud involved staging bear attacks on luxury vehicles
- Claim filed for damage to a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost
- Video evidence showed a person in a bear costume
- California Department of Insurance exposed the scam
Mentioned in this story
CaliforniaLos Angeles
Rolls-Royce GhostLake Arrowhead
When it comes to the California department of insurance, don’t poke the bear.
That is the lesson three individuals in Los Angeles learned recently when they were sentenced to jail time for an insurance fraud scheme in which they staged attacks on high-end vehicles by having a person dress up in a bear costume – then pretending that person was an actual bear.
The plan unraveled after the four defendants in the case filed an insurance claim in 2024 claiming that the bear had damaged a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost, going so far as to provide a video of the alleged attack inside the car parked at Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino mountains.
It turned out that the ursine figure in the video was, in fact, a human.
“What may have looked unbelievable turned out to be exactly that – and now those responsible are being held accountable,” the state’s insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, stated in a press release after the sentencing on Thursday. “My department’s investigators uncovered the facts, exposed this scam and helped bring these defendants to justice.
“Insurance fraud is a serious crime that drives up costs for consumers, and no scheme is too outrageous for us to investigate.”
The video in question showed the costumed person enter the vehicle and rummage through it in less-than-convincing fashion.
Investigators then discovered two additional claims of a person performing the same act in two more vehicles, each Mercedeses.
As part of the investigation, the state’s insurance department asked a California department of fish and wildlife biologist to review the videos. The scientist determined that “it was clearly a human in a bear suit”, a press release at the time stated.
Detectives found the bear costume seen in the video while executing a search warrant on the home of one of the suspects in the case.
Alfiya Zuckerman, 39; Ruben Tamrazian, 26; and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, all pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud, and they were each sentenced to 180 days in jail.
Q&A
What was the insurance fraud scheme involving a bear costume in California?
The scheme involved staging attacks on luxury vehicles by having a person dress in a bear costume and claiming it caused damage, specifically to a Rolls-Royce.
What were the consequences for those involved in the California bear-suit scam?
Three individuals were sentenced to jail time after being found guilty of participating in the fraudulent insurance scheme.
How did investigators uncover the bear costume insurance fraud?
Investigators revealed the scam by analyzing a video submitted as evidence, which showed a human in a bear costume, not an actual bear.
