Three people have been sentenced to jail in California for an insurance fraud scheme that involved staging bear attacks on luxury cars using a person dressed in a bear costume. The defendants filed a claim in 2024 alleging that a bear had damaged a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost, providing video footage of the supposed attack at Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino mountains. Investigators, however, determined that the figure in the video was clearly a human in a bear suit.
The California Department of Insurance uncovered the fraud after a biologist from the Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the footage and concluded it showed a person, not a real bear. A search warrant executed at one suspect's home led to the discovery of the bear costume seen in the video. Further investigation revealed two additional claims involving the same modus operandi, with Mercedes vehicles as targets.
Alfiya Zuckerman, 39; Ruben Tamrazian, 26; and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, all pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud. Each received a 180-day jail sentence. Zuckerman and Tamrazian were ordered to pay more than $52,000 in restitution, while Muradkhanyan's restitution amount has yet to be determined. A fourth suspect, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, is due in court for a preliminary hearing in September.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara stated, “What may have looked unbelievable turned out to be exactly that – and now those responsible are being held accountable. Insurance fraud is a serious crime that drives up costs for consumers, and no scheme is too outrageous for us to investigate.” The case highlights the lengths to which fraudsters will go, and the authorities' commitment to pursuing them.
