“Operation Bear Claw” Leads to Four Arrests in Bear Costume-Themed Insurance Fraud Case

A group of California residents have been charged in a bizarre case of dress up after an apparent insurance fraud scheme was dismantled by the California Department of Insurance.

According to a release by the CDI, an investigation, known internally as “Operation Bear Claw” was launched following a peculiar insurance claim that was filed in January from the Lake Arrowhead community in the San Bernardino Mountains. According to reports, the claim involved a 2010 Rolls Royce, a bear and a whole lot of destruction to the luxury vehicle. 

Backing up their claim that the bear destroyed the interior of the vehicle, the claimants went as far as submitting security camera footage to their insurance agency as part of the claim. In what looks to be some nighttime footage of the car in the driveway, a bear soon enters stage left and “opens” the passenger door without much of an issue. While it is common for bears to open and enter cars, the agency was skeptical and instead decided to call bullsh*t on both the video evidence and, hence, the claim. 

“Upon further scrutiny of the video, the investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume,” the department said in a statement.

As the investigation progressed, CDI officials uncovered two other similar claims made by the suspects that, once again, involved high-end luxury cars and one big ol’ brown bear. These additional claims came with their own security footage that, if nothing else, gave the investigators something to smile about. In reviewing the video “evidence” it was clear that the attempts to recreate a bear thrashing around in a car were done by someone impersonating a bear using something that looked like a mascot’s uniform.

Before making a firm statement on what they were seeing, CDI decided it would be best to get a second opinion. After sharing the footage with the good folks over at California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, they got all the confirmation they needed when a CDFW biologist noted that  “it was clearly a human in a bear suit.”

Detectives immediately took the investigation to the next level and executed a search warrant for the residence of the accused. What they found was exactly what they suspected: a bear costume complete with head, paws and metal “claws” that were used to absolutely destroy the interior of the three vehicles used in the bogus claims.

As a result of the investigation, Ruben Tamrazian, 26, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village have since been arrested and charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy. In total, the suspects filed three allegedly fraudulent claims that cost insurance companies $141,839.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.