Criminals pretend to be bears to damage cars in California

Four Los Angeles residents are under arrest as of Wednesday accused of fraud after dress up as a bear to cause damage to luxury cars and later collect the insurance.

The four suspects were arrested for being part of the fraudulent operation, which occurred at least three times, for more than $141,000 dollars.

Ruben Tamrazian, 26 years old; Ararat Chirkinian, 39; Vahe Muradkhanayan, 32, all three of Glendale, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village, They were charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy.

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Evidence raises suspicions

Agents of the California Department of Insurance began investigations into alleged bear attacks after an insurance company received a claim in January and suspected fraud was being committed.

According to the claim, the owners of the affected car reported to their insurance company that a bear entered a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost in Lake Arrowhead, San Bernardino Countyand caused severe damage to the interior of the luxury vehicle, and video images were presented as evidence.

The recording showed a furry creature rummaging through the interior of the Rolls-Royce, but investigators, upon taking a closer look at the video, determined that The alleged bear was actually a person wearing a bear costume.

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To confirm that it was an impostor, officials They consulted biologists from the California Department of Fish and Wildlifewho concluded that it was a human in a bear costume.

Agents discover bear costume

Officers executed a search warrant at the home of one of the suspects, where a bear costume and hand claws were discovered which are believed to have been used to cause damage to the vehicles.

During the investigation, two additional claims were also found at the same time involving a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350, according to California Department of Insurance officials.

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The claims They had similar damage caused by a bearwith videos provided to different insurance companies.

The four suspects are accused of defrauding insurance companies of $141,839.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office The investigation of this case is ongoing.

Keep reading:
· Four accused of defrauding $100 million in California
· Los Angeles couple defrauds Medicare in millions
· Two Hispanics from Los Angeles plead guilty to defrauding $2.7 million in checks