Rolls-Royce bear attack revealed as an elaborate insurance fraud involving a person in a bear costume

Four individuals are accused of producing phony videos depicting a bear assaulting high-end vehicles, and scamming businesses out of approximately $140,000 by exploiting these fake videos.

, and ASMedia

2025 June 13 . 1:23 AM

2 min read

Four individuals are under arrest, accused of creating fraudulent footage showing a bear attacking... — Four individuals are under arrest, accused of creating fraudulent footage showing a bear attacking high-end vehicles, subsequently deceiving businesses out of approximately $140,000.

Bearly Legal: The Outlandish LA Insurance Scam

By Charlie Sawyer

Published Nov 15, 2024 at 12:34 PM

Reading time: 1 minute

Rolls-Royce bear attack revealed as an elaborate insurance fraud involving a person in a bear costume

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Insurance scams are usually straight-laced and predictable, but LA's recent "Operation Bear Claw" scheme was anything but! Four suspects, allegedly defrauding companies of nearly $140,000 with an unconventional bear costume caper, were arrested.

As squeaky clean as a baby's bottom (or not-so-clean bear suit), the group teased an undomesticated black bear ravaging high-class vehicles—a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes—since January. But alas, this wasn't a forest-dwelling beast on a rampage, no sir! Just a daring fruadster squeezed into a shoddy bear costume.

When the insurance company balked at the dubious video footage, state officials took notice, leading to an undercover investigation. California's insurance department sleuths solicited the help of Kevin Howells, a biologist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, to review the footage.

Caught on grainy night vision, the footage depicted the so-called bear spending around 30 to 45 seconds causing chaos in the first car, before toppling out the passenger door. Howells, suspecting skulduggery, told reporters: "As soon as the bear came into frame, to me, it was pretty quick and fairly obvious that it was not."

The secret was out! A quick snoop around one of the claimants' pads, and presto chango, the bear costume was unveiled.

Dubbed "Operation Bear Claw," the Florida Four arrested includes: Ruben Tamrazian, 26, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39.

Although insurance fraud leaves a bad taste, I'm sure we can all agree this fiasco is a hoot. I've got to give 'em props for the audacity.