US Edition
California bear-suit luxury car scam ends in insurance fraud sentences for 3
Investigators said a bear costume was used to support claims on three luxury cars, and insurers lost $141,839, officials said.
- Three Los Angeles County residents—Alfiya Zuckerman, 39; Ruben Tamrazian, 26; and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32—were sentenced to 180 days in jail for felony insurance fraud, to be served through a weekend program with two years of supervised probation.
- The Department launched Operation Bear Claw after receiving claims for damage to a Rolls-Royce Ghost, a Mercedes G63 AMG, and a Mercedes E350, with suspects submitting videos of an alleged bear damaging the vehicle interiors.
- Detectives executing a search warrant discovered the bear costume at the suspects' home; experts from Fish and Wildlife reviewed the footage and concluded it was "clearly a human in a bear suit."
- Zuckerman and Tamazarian must pay nearly $108,000 in restitution. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said, "Insurance fraud is a serious crime that drives up costs for consumers, and no scheme is too outrageous for us to investigate."
- A fourth suspect, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale, remains under prosecution with a court date scheduled for September 2026 regarding his role in the fraud scheme.
82 Articles
82 Articles
Two insurance companies fell into the billboard and paid a total of more than 140,000 dollars to the false victims, before a third insurance company saw the fraud. They each received six months in prison.
'Clearly a Human in a Bear Suit': California Trio Jailed for Staging Fake Bear Attacks on Rolls-Royce and Mercedes in $142K Insurance Scam
Three Los Angeles-area residents have been sentenced to jail time after pleading no contest to felony insurance fraud in a bizarre scheme that involved dressing in a bear costume to stage fake attacks on luxury vehicles and then filing fraudulent insurance claims. According to the California Department of Insurance, the defendants, Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, Ruben Tamrazian, 26, and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, used the costume to damage a 2010 Rolls-Royce…
They claimed a bear damaged luxury cars, then authorities found this
Three people in the US state of California have been sentenced for insurance fraud in a bizarre scam that involved someone dressed in a bear costume damaging luxury cars. The California Insurance Department said the three used a person in a bear suit to stage fake attacks inside a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes in 2024, then submitted fraudulent claims seeking nearly $142,000 in payouts from insurance companies. The department called it "Operation…
Three people have been convicted in the US state of California for a very creative fraud scheme. In 2024, the convicted fraudsters hired a fourth person to dress up in a bear costume and pretend to damage the exterior and interior surfaces of expensive cars - a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes - with his claws. The fraudsters filed a claim with the insurance company for $142,000, attaching fake photos of the damage and a video of the fake bear appro…
A US court has convicted three defendants in an insurance fraud case after they staged a fake bear to damage a luxury car in order to claim nearly 5 million baht. Evidence clearly shows it was a person wearing the costume.
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