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4 LA-area humans allegedly used giant furry bear costume to claim damage of Rolls-Royce, other luxury cars
Authorities released this photo of a bear costume recovered during Operation Bear Claw.
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Courtesy California Dept. of Insurance
)
Four people from Glendale and Valley Village have been arrested for allegedly wearing a fake bear costume — to commit insurance fraud.
The suspects are accused of claiming a bear damaged their vehicles in Lake Arrowhead, sending video footage to their insurance companies when it was really someone wearing an elaborate furry brown suit.
As part of “Operation Bear Claw,” all four have been charged with conspiracy and insurance fraud, the California Department of Insurance announced Wednesday.
“The Department’s investigation began after an insurance company suspected fraud,” the department said in a statement. “Upon further scrutiny of the video, the investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume.”
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What we know about ‘Operation Bear Claw’
The four people, three from Glendale and another from Valley Village, allegedly claimed a bear had broken into their 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost in January, damaging the inside of the car.
The footage they shared with their insurance company shows a parked Rolls-Royce and what appears to be a bear rummaging around inside.
Watch the surveillance video
Officials began investigating and found additional insurance claims for a pair of Mercedes.
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Again, the department said the suspects used a bear costume to make it look like the animal broke in and was responsible for the damage, sharing the video with two more insurance companies to substantiate their claims.
“To further ensure it was not actually a bear in the video, the Department had a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife review the three alleged bear videos and they also opined it was clearly a human in a bear suit,” officials said in a statement.
Authorities released this image of Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village being arrested in connection with Operation Bear Claw.
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Courtesy California Dept. of Insurance
)
Authorities released this image of Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale being arrested in connection with Operation Bear Claw.
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Courtesy California Dept. of Insurance
)
The bear costume was allegedly found in their home when officials carried out a search warrant.
The insurance companies were defrauded of nearly $150,000, officials said.
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