4 suspects in US use costume to stage 'bear attacks' on Rolls-Royce, Mercedes

Four Southern California residents have been arrested for allegedly donning a bear costume to stage fake bear attacks on luxury vehicles in an attempt to score big insurance payouts.

Dubbed “Operation Bear Claw” by the California Department of Insurance (CDI), the investigation revealed that the suspects submitted staged footage supposedly showing a bear tearing up a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost, a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG, and a 2022 Mercedes E350. However, investigators soon uncovered that the “bear” was simply a person in costume, aiming to defraud insurance companies out of a whopping USD 141,839.

The suspects—Ruben Tamrazian, 26; Ararat Chirkinian, 39; Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, all of Glendale; and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village—first claimed that a bear had wandered into the Rolls-Royce near Lake Arrowhead on January 28, 2024, causing extensive interior damage.

The CDI reported that home surveillance footage submitted with the claim showed what seemed to be a bear rummaging through the car.

But “upon further scrutiny of the video, the investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume,” stated the CDI.

Adding to the suspicion, the group allegedly filed additional claims with different insurance companies for damages to the Mercedes vehicles, using similar video footage showing the “bear” causing havoc in each car. Investigators noted that all three claims suspiciously listed the same date and location.

To verify their suspicions, detectives brought in a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, who, after reviewing the videos, “opined it was clearly a human in a bear suit.”

With this confirmation, detectives secured a search warrant for the suspects’ residence, where they reportedly discovered a brown bear costume, complete with metal hand tools that could mimic claw marks.

The CDI’s “Operation Bear Claw” was supported by the Glendale Police Department and the California Highway Patrol. With total damages estimated at USD 141,839 across three luxury cars, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office is now set to prosecute the suspects on charges of insurance fraud and conspiracy.