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Three Los Angeles-area residents have been convicted and sentenced after staging fake bear attacks on luxury vehicles as part of an insurance fraud scheme, authorities announced Thursday (April 16). The California Department of Insurance, working under the name Operation Bear Claw, uncovered the plot after suspicious claims were filed about a supposed bear damaging high-end cars in Lake Arrowhead.
Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village; Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale; and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale, each pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud. Prosecutors said the group used a person in a bear costume to stage attacks on a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost, a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG, and a 2022 Mercedes E350, then submitted fraudulent claims to insurance companies.
Detectives began investigating after an insurance company flagged a January 28, 2024, claim involving the Rolls-Royce. The suspects submitted video footage that appeared to show a bear inside the car. However, a biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the evidence and determined the "bear" was actually a person in a costume.
Officers later executed a search warrant and found the bear costume at the suspects’ home. The investigation revealed two additional fraudulent claims made on the same day and at the same location. In total, the scheme cost insurance companies $141,839, according to Insurance Journal.
Each defendant was sentenced to 180 days in jail—which will be served through a weekend jail program—two years of supervised probation, and ordered to pay restitution. Zuckerman must pay $55,360, Tamrazian $52,268, and Muradkhanyan’s amount will be decided later.
A fourth suspect, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale, is scheduled for a preliminary court hearing in September.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said, "What may have looked unbelievable turned out to be exactly that, and now those responsible are being held accountable. My Department’s investigators uncovered the facts, exposed this scam, and helped bring these defendants to justice."