Person dressed in bear costume to fake attacks on cars for insurance payouts, California officials say

Four people in Southern California were arrested and charged with insurance fraud after they claimed their car was vandalized by a bear — which was actually someone in a bear costume, officials said Wednesday.

The alleged bear allegedly entered and damaged a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost while it was parked at Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains northeast of Los Angeles on Jan. 8, the California Department of Insurance said.

Video was submitted to the insurance company showing the animal entering the car.

“Upon further review of the video, the investigation revealed that the bear was actually a person in a bear costume,” the insurance department said in a statement. The group also filed claims for damage to two other cars, a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350, again with video and again with someone in a bear suit, it said.

Reuben Tamrazian, 26; Ararat Chirkinian, 39; and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, all of Glendale, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village, were arrested on charges of insurance fraud and conspiracy, the department said.

A spokesperson for the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said charges have been filed against the four people arrested and the cases are being investigated for a charging decision.

It was not clear whether any of the four had attorneys who could speak on their behalf Wednesday evening. Phone numbers for them could not be found.

The scam cost insurance companies $141,839, the department said.

The bear costume, which features brown fur, a bear-shaped head, paws and metal hand tools to simulate claw marks, was found in the suspects’ home, officials said.

A video of the alleged damage showed small gouge marks on the seats and interior that were intended to pass for claw marks.

Investigators also showed the videos to a California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, who “believed it was clearly a human in a bear suit,” according to the insurance department.

There are bears at Lake Arrowhead and in the San Bernardino Mountains, a forested area about 60 miles northeast of Los Angeles, but they don’t wear costumes.

According to the Fish and Wildlife Department, the only wild bears in the San Bernardino Mountains or anywhere in the state are black bears. Contrary to the name, those bears can sometimes be brown.

The state once had grizzly bears, but by the 1920s they were in danger of extinction.