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ONLY IN CALIFORNIA
Three Los Angeles-area residents have been convicted in an unusual insurance scheme—using a person in a bear costume to fake attacks on luxury vehicles in order to collect insurance payments.
As part of the California Department of Insurance’s “Operation Bear Claw,” Alfiya Zuckerman, Ruben Tamrazian, and Vahe Muradkhanyan all pleaded no contest to serious insurance fraud.
The three were each sentenced to 180 days in jail, two years of probation, and were ordered to pay restitution.
A fourth suspect, Ararat Chirkinian, is scheduled to return to court in September.
The investigation began after an insurance company received a suspicious claim tied to a 2024 event at California’s Lake Arrowhead.
The suspects claimed that a bear had entered their 2010 Rolls-Royce and caused interior damage, submitting, as proof, video evidence that they had filmed.
Detectives later determined the "bear" in the video was just a person wearing a cheap bear costume.
But, detectives also discovered that two additional, similar claims had been submitted to two other insurance companies, using the same date and location but for different luxury cars: a 2015 Mercedes and a 2022 Mercedes.
A biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the video and concluded the animal shown was definitely not a real bear but "clearly a human in a bear suit.”
Detectives searched the suspects’ home and recovered the costume.
Officials said the total loss to the insurance companies was over USD$140,000 (NTD$4.2 million).
"What at first looked to be unbelievable turned out to be exactly what happened, and now those responsible are being held accountable," Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said. "My Department’s investigators uncovered the facts, exposed this scam, and helped bring these criminals to justice.
"Insurance fraud is a serious crime that drives up costs for consumers, and no scheme is too outrageous for us to investigate."
It could only happen in California—the home of bad acting and stupid story lines.
Source: foxbusiness.com
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