Four arrested for 'donning bear costume to damage cars and cash in off insurance'

Four people from Los Angeles have been arrested after allegedly using a bear costume to pull off an elaborate insurance scam.

Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village, have all been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy.

The California Department of Insurance started its investigation after an insurance company suspected fraud.

On 28 January, suspects claimed a bear had entered their 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost and caused interior damage. They provided video footage which showed the "bear" entering the car.

During the investigation, authorities determined the bear was actually a person dressed in a costume.

California Department of Insurance

They also discovered two additional insurance claims with different companies for the same suspects with the same date of loss and the same location.

The two vehicles were a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350.

Insurance companies forked out $141,839 (£111,788) off the back of the alleged incidents.

To back their suspicions, the team involved a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to review the three separate pieces of footage and concluded it was "clearly" a person dressed in a bear costume.

California Department of Insurance

Following a search warrant, they found the bear costume in the suspects' home. The Department released an image of the brown furry outfit, along with the video footage the suspects shared with insurance companies.

Department detectives were assisted by the Glendale Police Department and the California Highway Patrol. The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting this case.

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