Four people have been arrested after allegedly filing fake insurance claims stating that a bear had damaged the interiors of three luxury cars.
Video footage submitted to insurers as evidence showed what appeared to be the animal climbing into the front seat of Rolls Royce, then clawing its way toward the back.
The footage drew suspicion from investigators with the California Department of Insurance, who after executing a search warrant, found a bear costume in the suspects’ home.
“Upon further scrutiny of the video, the investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume,” the department said in a press release.
The four Los Angeles-area residents have been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy after having received $141,839 (£111,619) in insurance payments.
Those arrested in what investigators dubbed “Operation Bear Claw” are: Ruben Tamrazian, 26; Ararat Chirkinian, 39; Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32; and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39.
There were three total incidents where the suspects filed insurance claims for cars-damaged-by-bear, investigators said.
The initial claim was in January, when the suspects allegedly said that a bear entered a 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost – retailing for around $100,000 – and damaged its interior.
Fuzzy night-time footage shows the bear spending about 30-45 seconds in the car, rummaging around the front and back, before falling out of the open passenger door.
Photos of the damage reveal claw marks on the leather seats and the leather lining of one of the doors.
There were two additional insurance claims filed with two different insurance companies, each with the same date of loss, the same address and the same alleged bear damage.
Those incidents involved a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E35.
To confirm the footage showed a costumed human and not a bear, department officials asked for assistance from a California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, who determined that “it was clearly a human in a bear suit”.
The Glendale Police Department and the California Highway Patrol assisted in the investigation, the state’s Insurance Department said.
The San Bernadino County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the charges.
