GLENDALE, Calif. (TCN) — Three suspects have pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud in connection with a scheme where someone in a bear costume staged attacks on luxury cars.
Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, Ruben Tamrazian, 26, and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, were sentenced April 16 to 180 days in jail and have been ordered to pay restitution. A fourth suspect, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, has a preliminary hearing scheduled for September.
On Jan. 28, 2024, an insurance company flagged a suspicious claim in which a bear reportedly entered a Rolls-Royce and damaged the interior, KTLA reports. The insurance company submitted video evidence to detectives, who determined that it did not show a bear causing the damage but in fact depicted a person wearing a bear costume.
Investigators found two similar claims from the same location, involving two Mercedes-Benz vehicles. A search of the suspects’ home revealed a bear costume. SFGate reports the costume featured a claw that was used to cause the damage to the vehicles.
The California Department of Insurance dubbed the investigation “Operation Bear Claw,” according to a press release. The total loss to the insurance companies was $141,839.
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said, “What may have looked unbelievable turned out to be exactly that — and now those responsible are being held accountable.”
Zuckerman, Tamrazian, and Muradkhanyan will serve their sentences through a weekend jail program, according to the California Department of Insurance.
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