Four California residents have been arrested for allegedly staging bear attacks on luxury vehicles to defraud insurance companies. The suspects, identified as Ruben Tamrazian, 26, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, are accused of damaging their own cars, including a Rolls-Royce Ghost and two Mercedes models, and filing claims worth over $140,000.
The investigation began when one suspect filed a claim for ripped seats and damaged doors on a Rolls-Royce Ghost, stating that a bear had entered the car while it was parked in Lake Arrowhead. To support the claim, they provided photos and security footage that allegedly showed a bear inside the vehicle.
However, the insurance company grew suspicious and contacted fraud detectives, who determined that the “bear” in the footage was actually a person in a costume. Further investigation uncovered similar claims for a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350, all with video footage showing the same “bear.”
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists reviewed the footage, confirming it was clearly a human in a bear costume. Detectives found the costume in the suspects’ home during a search.
The four suspects now face charges of insurance fraud and conspiracy. Black bears in California occasionally damage vehicles in search of food, but authorities say this case was an elaborate attempt to mimic such incidents for financial gain.