California officials say person in bear costume staged fake attacks on cars for insurance payout

Four individuals in Southern California were arrested and charged with insurance fraud after falsely claiming that their cars had been damaged by a bear. The group claimed that a bear had entered and damaged a Rolls-Royce Ghost and two other cars parked at Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains. However, upon further investigation, it was revealed that the bear was actually a person in a bear suit, as shown in submitted videos. The suspects, Ruben Tamrazian, Ararat Chirkinian, Vahe Muradkhanyan, and Alfiya Zuckerman, were arrested on charges of insurance fraud and conspiracy, with the scam costing insurance companies $141,839. The bear costume used in the scheme was found in the suspects’ home, along with metal hand tools to simulate claw marks. A biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that it was a human in a bear suit in the videos. Despite the presence of actual bears in the region, they do not wear costumes, and the only wild bears in the area are black bears. Grizzly bears, which were once native to the region, were hunted to extinction by the 1920s. Charges against the four individuals have been submitted, and the cases are under review for further action.

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