Claimed a Bear Damaged Their Luxury Cars—You Won’t Believe What Police Discovered
Four Los Angeles residents were arrested this week after claiming a bear damaged their luxury vehicles, when it was actually a person in disguise.
IllustrationFour residents from the Los Angeles area, California, were arrested this week after attempting insurance fraud. The four claimed a bear broke into their vehicles when it was, in fact, a person in a costume. They received hundreds of thousands of dollars from three insurance companies, according to an investigation by the California Department of Insurance.
The suspects—Ruben Tamrazian, 26; Ararat Chirkiniyan, 39; Vahe Mourathanyan, 32; and Alfie Zuckerman, 39—claimed last January that a bear broke into their car—a luxury 2010 Rolls Royce—and caused damage while it was parked at Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains area, known for its large black bear population.
The costume found at the suspects' home. Photo: CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCEThe suspects even provided their insurance company with video footage of the incident. In the video, a furry figure is seen entering through the car's side door, climbing around the back seat, and crawling out, leaving scratch marks on the leather seats and the door.
Officials stated, "Upon further examination of the video, the investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume."
The detectives investigating the incident also uncovered two additional claims related to the same suspects, from the same date and place, but involving different cars: a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350.
In these instances, the suspects again provided video footage of the purported incidents, but this time authorities became suspicious. The insurance fraud department requested a wildlife biologist from the California Department of Wildlife to examine the three bear videos. They too concluded it was clearly a person in a bear suit. Detectives issued a search warrant and found the bear costume at the suspects’ home.
The fur of the costume is light brown. The California Department of Wildlife claims that black bears are the only wild bears in the state.
The district attorney's office informed the media that the case is currently under review. If they decide to file charges against the suspects, a trial date will be set.
