A brazen scheme unfolded in the mountains of Southern California, revealing a trio attempting to defraud insurance companies with a truly unbelievable tactic: dressing as a bear.
Alfiya Zuckerman, Ruben Tamrazian, and Vahe Muradkhanyan, aged 39, 26, and 32 respectively, concocted “Operation Bear Claw,” a plan to stage fake bear attacks on luxury vehicles and then claim damages.
The initial red flag appeared in January 2024 with a claim filed in Lake Arrowhead involving a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost. The perpetrators alleged a bear had broken into the parked car, causing interior damage, and provided security footage as proof.
Investigators soon uncovered two similar claims filed on the same day, at the same location, targeting Mercedes vehicles. Each claim was accompanied by video footage depicting a supposed bear encounter.
However, the charade quickly unraveled when a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the footage. The expert definitively identified the “bear” as a person wearing a remarkably unconvincing bear suit.
Detectives executed a search warrant, uncovering the very bear costume used in the fraudulent videos. They also discovered meat-claw shredders, presumably used to create the illusion of animal damage.
The audacious scheme resulted in insurance companies losing a total of $141,839 to the deceptive claims.
On Thursday, the three defendants faced justice in San Bernardino County Superior Court, each sentenced to 180 days in jail, served through a weekend program, along with two years of supervised probation.
Zuckerman was ordered to pay $55,360 in restitution, while Tamrazian must pay $52,268. The restitution amount for Muradkhanyan is still being calculated.
A fourth suspect, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, awaits a preliminary hearing in September, potentially adding another chapter to this bizarre case of insurance fraud.
The case underscores the lengths to which individuals will go to commit fraud and highlights the dedication of investigators to uncovering even the most outlandish schemes.
