Man dresses up in costume to attack luxury cars to fool insurance companies into paying out $141,000

Once in Southern California, a man dressed up in a bear costume to damage luxury cars so his friends could allegedly make money off huge insurance payouts.

Four people in the Los Angeles area were arrested and charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy after they claimed their fancy vehicles were damaged by a bear — only for insurance investigators to find out it was them. That the destruction was actually caused by a man dressed as a bear.

According to the California Department of Insurance Fraud Division, the fake animal allegedly broke into a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost on January 8, which was parked northeast of Los Angeles at Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains.

The owner of the luxury car submitted a video to the insurance company to prove that the creature destroyed the vehicle, but the insurance department did not approve of it.

“Upon further investigation of the video, the investigation revealed that the bear was actually a person in a bear costume,” the California Department of Insurance and Fraud said. Revealed in a statement.

Ruben Tamarzian, Ararat Chirkinian, Vahe Muradkhanian and Alfia Zuckerman have been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy.

“Insurance companies were defrauded out of $141,839 as a result of the alleged fraud committed by the suspects,” the California Department of Insurance said.

The State Insurance Department also released footage of what they call “Operation Bear Claw” – detailing alleged animal production.

Surveillance video shows the alleged animal entering the passenger side window of the Rolls-Royce, but as it moves to the back seat, the animal’s “fur” appears very shiny and smooth – as if it’s a Halloween. The costume was that of a creature in the forest which was bought in a shop in contrast.

Photographs released by investigators revealed that the interior of the Rolls-Royce had very straight and parallel marks damaging the seats and doors, which the car owner claimed were from bear claws.

A biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the footage and suggested it was a person in the costume. Later, the bear costume was found in the suspects’ home following the execution of a search warrant.

A photo of the costume shows what appeared to be a onesie with bear-like fur, attached claws for legs and hands, and claw-like blades that could have been used to scratch the seats.

This incident was not the only questionable claim.

Detectives found two additional insurance claims from two different insurance companies where the suspects used the same date and location for their absurd claims.

The California department said, “Each of those claims involved two different vehicles, a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350, and the suspects again used a bear costume to make it appear that a The bear also entered and damaged those vehicles.” Insurance claim made.