'OPERATION BEAR CLAW'

Trio Jailed for Staging Bear Attacks on Luxury Cars

“What may have looked unbelievable turned out to be exactly that.”

Three California residents have been sentenced to 180 days in jail for staging fake bear attacks on luxury vehicles in a bizarre insurance fraud scheme. Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, Ruben Tamrazian, 26, and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, pleaded no contest to felony insurance charges on Thursday, authorities said. A fourth suspect, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, is scheduled to appear in court in September for a preliminary hearing in an investigation dubbed “Operation Bear Claw” by the California Department of Insurance. The four defendants are accused of using a bear costume to simulate bear attacks on luxury vehicles and then submitting fraudulent insurance claims seeking payouts, according to a press release. Investigators caught wind of the scheme in 2024 after the suspects filed an insurance claim stating that a bear had entered their 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost and caused damage. However, scrutiny of the video footage they provided revealed that the “bear” was a person in a costume, and detectives later uncovered additional insurance claims submitted by the same Los Angeles-based individuals. The bear costume was later discovered in one of the suspects’ homes. “What may have looked unbelievable turned out to be exactly that—and now those responsible are being held accountable,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. A press release issued following the suspects’ arrest claimed that insurance companies were defrauded of $141,839.

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