Four Arrested for Insurance Fraud After Staging Car Damage with Bear Costume

Four Los Angeles-area residents have been arrested for their involvement in a bizarre insurance scam involving staged car break-ins by a “bear.” Dubbed ‘Operation Bear Claw,’ the scheme allegedly defrauded insurance companies of $142,000. The suspects—Ruben Tamrazian, 26, and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale; Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale; and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village—claimed their luxury vehicles, including a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes, had been vandalized by a bear in the San Bernardino Mountains last January.

The group submitted video evidence showing the “bear” inside the cars, leaving scratches and other damage. However, insurance investigators became suspicious when they noticed irregularities in the footage. Upon closer examination, it was determined that the “bear” was actually a human in a costume. Further evidence revealed similar footage from the Mercedes vehicles, all reportedly damaged on the same date and location.

A biologist from California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife was brought in to verify the footage, confirming that it was “clearly a human in a bear suit.” Authorities later found a bear costume in one of the suspects’ homes during a search.

According to a statement, the suspects claimed a bear entered their Rolls-Royce on January 28, 2024, in Lake Arrowhead, causing damage. “They provided video footage to their insurance company, which showed the alleged bear in the vehicle. Upon further scrutiny of the video, the investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume,” authorities explained.