SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT IN THE NEWS PIPELINE TARIFFS WESTJET IVF SUBSCRIBE LIVE Site theme toggle. Switch between light or dark mode LIGHT DARK GlobalNews home Watch World Canada Local Politics Money Health Entertainment Lifestyle Perspectives Sports Shopping Commentary Contests Podcasts U.S. News Full Menu Search Menu U.S. NEWS Trio sentenced over ‘bear costume’ insurance fraud scam in California By Katie Scott Global News Posted April 20, 2026 1:44 pm 2 min read Three people in California have been sentenced over an insurance fraud in a scam that involved someone dressing up in a bear costume, and then damaging luxury cars – Apr 20, 2026 LEAVE A COMMENT SHARE THIS ITEM ON FACEBOOK SHARE THIS ITEM ON X SEND THIS PAGE TO SOMEONE VIA EMAIL SEE MORE SHARING OPTIONS DESCREASE ARTICLE FONT SIZE INCREASE ARTICLE FONT SIZE

Three people in California have been sentenced for insurance fraud in a scam that involved someone dressed in a bear costume damaging luxury cars.

Following a California Department of Insurance investigation, dubbed “Operation Bear Claw,” three Los Angeles area residents pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud and were sentenced to a weekend jail program, followed by probation, the department said in a news release. Two of them were ordered to pay more than US$50,000 in restitution.

A fourth person faces a court hearing in September.

2:08 Alleged fraudsters arrested in bear costume, luxury vehicle scheme: ‘Highly suspect and questionable’

Add Global News as a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our stories in your search results.

The California Department of Insurance said the defendants used a person in a bear suit to stage fake attacks on high-end vehicles, including a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes in 2024. After the fake attacks, the defendants submitted fraudulent claims seeking payouts from insurance companies.

“What may have looked unbelievable turned out to be exactly that — and now those responsible are being held accountable,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “My Department’s investigators uncovered the facts, exposed this scam, and helped bring these defendants to justice. Insurance fraud is a serious crime that drives up costs for consumers, and no scheme is too outrageous for us to investigate.”

Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village and Ruben Tamrazian, 26, and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, both of Glendale, pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud and were sentenced to 180 days in jail — to be served through a weekend jail program — and two years of supervised probation. Zuckerman was ordered to pay $55,360 in restitution and Tamrazian was ordered to pay $52,260, while Muradkhanyan’s restitution is still to be determined.

Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale, is scheduled to return to court in September for a preliminary hearing.

“The investigation began after an insurance company flagged a suspicious claim tied to a January 28, 2024, incident in Lake Arrowhead. The suspects claimed a bear entered their 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost and caused interior damage, submitting video footage to support the claim,” the news release said.

Photos provided by the insurance department show what appeared to be “scratches” on the seats and doors.

A screen grab from video provided by the California Department of Insurance shows what appeared to be marks on the interior of one of the luxury vehicles. California Department of Insurance MORE ON U.S. NEWS MORE VIDEOS Gordie Howe bridge deal not yet finalized but talks ‘promising,’ U.S. ambassador says U.S. to withdraw 5K troops from Germany, Pentagon says amid Trump-Merz feud Court restricts U.S. abortion access, blocks mailing of mifepristone pill Body found in Tampa Bay identified as 2nd missing Florida student

Upon further review, the department detectives determined that the “bear” in the video was a person wearing a bear costume.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT View image in full screen This photo, provided by the California Department of Insurance, shows a bear costume allegedly worn by suspects trying to commit insurance fraud. California Department of Insurance via AP, File

Investigators uncovered two additional fraudulent claims submitted to separate insurance companies involving the same date and location, tied to a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350.

A biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the footage to further verify the deception and concluded that the animal shown “was clearly a human in a bear suit.”

Detectives executed a search warrant and recovered the costume from the suspect’s home, the department added.

The total loss to the insurance companies was US$141,839.

Bears are known to be a bit of a nuisance in California, as humans encroach into their territory across the state. They are frequently seen going for swims in backyard pools and hot tubs and have been known to break into refrigerators and freezers.

— With files from Global News and The Associated Press

JOURNALISTIC STANDARDS REPORT AN ERROR © 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. Sponsored content More to Explore MORE FROM GLOBAL NEWS Gordie Howe bridge deal not yet finalized but talks ‘promising,’ U.S. ambassador says U.S. to withdraw 5K troops from Germany, Pentagon says amid Trump-Merz feud Trending 1st-degree murder charges laid after 2 kids found dead in Calgary vehicle 12,570 READ Neither Norway nor Singapore: Decoding Canada’s new sovereign wealth fund 3,759 READ Archbishop calls on Carney to stop extension of MAID for mental illness 1,639 READ Ontario youth faces indignity to a body, harassment charges after student death 1,405 READ Albertans question timeline of alleged voter list leak, call for election law changes 1,395 READ Top Videos ‘Hearts are broken’: OPP officer killed in line of duty in Cobourg crash Peterborough education workers join provincewide ‘Day of Action’ for school improvements Otonabee Conservation takes over Peterborough Marina operations Peterborough marks National Day of Mourning Northumberland OPP officer’s death impacts policing community and municipalities MORE VIDEOS Stay in the loop

The email you need for the day’s top news stories from Canada and around the world.

SIGN UP FOR NATIONAL NEWSLETTER SIGN UP ADVERTISEMENT AdChoices Global News Facebook Pages Global News Twitter Accounts Global News Youtube Channel Global News on Instagram Global News on LinkedIn Global News on TikTok Global News on Telegram Global News on BlueSky About Principles & Practices Branded Content Contact us RSS Newsletters Notifications Smart home Advertisers Election Registry Global News Licensing Requests Cookie consent ©2026 GLOBAL NEWS, A DIVISION OF CORUS ENTERTAINMENT INC.

CORUS NEWS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRIVACY POLICY COPYRIGHT TERMS OF USE ADVERTISE ADVERTISING STANDARDS TERMS CORUS ENTERTAINMENT ACCESSIBILITY Corus Entertainment Inc. and its partners use cookies and similar technology on our websites and applications.

This allows us to gather information about the visitors to these platforms for the purposes of improving the performance of the platforms, research, marketing, content curation and serving advertisements that may be more tailored to each visitor's personal interests.

Please see our Privacy Policy for a description of what data is being collected, the purposes of collection, the potential processing or storage of this data by third parties, and general risks and concerns that you should be aware of in making an informed decision. You may choose below to accept all cookies or only certain cookies in our Cookie Consent Tool. ACCEPTOptions