Call the fuzz: 4 charged in alleged 'human in a bear suit' insurance scam

The lengths some people will go for an insurance payout is, sometimes, bear-ly believable.

Four California men have been arrested in connection with an insurance scam after they allegedly dressed up in a bear costume and damaged several high-end cars.

Ruben Tamrazian, 26, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, were charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy for allegedly defrauding US$141,839 (nearly C$200,000) from insurance companies, the California Department of Insurance said on Wednesday.

Officials say the four men tried to claim that a bear entered and damaged a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost in January of this year, while it was parked at Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains.

The group shared video with an insurance company that they said showed the so-called bear breaking into the car, which was a big mistake and eventually got them in trouble with the fuzz.

“Upon further scrutiny of the video, the investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume,” the department said in a statement.

The group allegedly tried to pull the fur over two separate insurers’ eyes on another two claims, it said — a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350 — again, with someone in a bear suit.

Photos provided by the insurance department show what appeared to be “scratches” on the seats and doors.

The department had a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife review the three videos, who concluded it was “clearly a human in a bear suit,” the insurance department said.

After executing a search warrant, detectives found the bear costume in the suspects’ home, complete with a bear head, a full fur suit, paws and metal hand tools designed to simulate claws.

Uncostumed bears are known to be a bit of a nuisance in California, as humans encroach into their territory across the state. They are frequently seen going for swims in backyard pools and hot tubs and have been known to break into refrigerators and freezers.

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