The images are shocking. A brown bear – and there hasn’t been one in Southern California in over a century – breaks into a 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost, apparently using the door handle. Then he wanders around inside the car, raking the leather seats with his powerful claws.
Except it wasn’t a terrifying beast: It was a person dressed as a bear using a kitchen utensil designed to shred meat, authorities said.
And the video was not a lucky catch, but a staged performance submitted as part of an insurance fraud scheme involving four people, according to the California Department of Insurance.
On Wednesday, Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village were arrested and charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy, according to California. Department of Insurance.
The suspects are also accused of organizing fake bear videos with two Mercedes-Benz vehicles – a 2015 G63 AMG and a 2022 E350 – and submitting the videos as part of fraudulent insurance claims, the report says. department.
A bear costume with meat claws was discovered at the suspects’ home Wednesday, according to the insurance department.
Detectives said a bear costume was found at the suspects’ home.
(California Department of Insurance)
The Department of Insurance’s Fraud Division launched its investigation – dubbed Operation Bear Claw – after an insurance company reviewed the recording of the Jan. 28 Rolls Royce incident and suspected it was happening something fishy.
Upon closer inspection, the ferocious animal appeared to be a person in disguise, detectives said.
Detectives then discovered the two additional insurance claims filed for the two Mercedes vehicles. The three insurance claims were filed with different companies and had the same loss date and location, detectives said.
They decided to bring in an expert – just to be safe, mind you.
Detectives brought in a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to review the three videos, who agreed it was clearly a human in a bear costume.
The suspects are accused of defrauding insurance companies of nearly $142,000.
On Wednesday, detectives executed a search and arrest warrant and discovered the costume and claws. The Glendale Police Department and California Highway Patrol assisted in the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.
