The California Division of Insurance coverage uncovered an insurance coverage rip-off that is been dubbed, “Operation Bear Claw,” as a result of the suspects allegedly wore a bear costume to commit insurance coverage fraud.
4 suspects had been arrested Thursday, per a press release, after claiming a bear had triggered harm to their autos, “nevertheless it was really an individual in a bear costume.”
California Division of Insurance coverage
In keeping with the report, the suspects claimed a bear broke into their 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost in Lake Arrowhead in late January and triggered inside harm. The group supplied a video to their insurance coverage firm as proof.
Nonetheless, investigators observed one thing fishy after they discovered two extra insurance coverage claims “with two completely different insurance coverage firms, for the suspects with the identical date of loss and on the similar location.”
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These vehicles, a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350, had also allegedly been ransacked by a bear. There was comparable video footage supplied as proof.
After analyzing the video nearer, the investigators decided there was no bear in any of the circumstances—and it was an individual in a bear costume, as an alternative. Nonetheless, they needed extra proof and introduced in a biologist from the California Division of Fish and Wildlife to evaluation the three “bear” movies. The biologist famous that “it was clearly a human in a bear swimsuit.”
4 California residents had been arrested for an insurance coverage fraud scheme after they claimed a bear broken their autos—however video confirmed it was an individual in a bear costume, in line with the California Division of Insurance coverage.
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Lastly, the division famous that after executing a search warrant, detectives discovered the bear costume within the suspects’ dwelling.
Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village, have all been charged with insurance coverage fraud and conspiracy.
In keeping with the report, the insurance coverage firms had been scammed out of $141,839.
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