- A California Department of Insurance investigation, named "Operation Bear Claw", uncovered an insurance fraud scheme involving individuals staging fake attacks on high-end vehicles.
- Fraudsters used a person in a bear suit to simulate damage to cars, including a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost, and then submitted fraudulent claims to insurance companies.
- The investigation began after a suspicious claim in January 2024 in Lake Arrowhead, where footage of a "bear" damaging a Rolls-Royce was submitted, later revealed to be a person in costume.
- Detectives identified two additional fraudulent claims linked to the same date and location, bringing the total loss to insurance companies to $141,839.
- Alfiya Zuckerman, Ruben Tamrazian, and Vahe Muradkhanyan were each sentenced to 180 days in jail, to be served through a weekend programme, with Zuckerman and Tamrazian also ordered to pay almost $108,000 in restitution.
IN FULL