On April 16th, three residents of Los Angeles County were charged with luxury car insurance fraud. The fourth suspect is still awaiting their court appearance.
According to the California Department of Insurance, the defendants had a person dress up in a bear costume, pretending to attack their luxury cars, and then submitted false claims to insurance companies, seeking a total payout of about $142,000.
Ricardo Lara, the director of the Insurance Department, stated, “What seemed unbelievable turned out to be true – and now those responsible are being held accountable.”
The investigation by the Insurance Department began with a report from a company about a suspicious claim. The defendants claimed that on January 28, 2024, a bear entered their 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost parked in Lake Arrowhead, California, causing interior damage.
Alongside the claim, the defendants provided surveillance footage showing a “bear” rummaging inside the car, along with photos of claw marks on the doors and seats.
Insurance investigators concluded that the “bear” was actually a person wearing a bear costume.
Subsequently, investigators discovered two more fraudulent claims submitted to different insurance companies, with the same date and location but involving a 2015 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes-Benz E350.
These claims also included similar “bear attack” surveillance videos, filmed on the same lane. In the footage, the “bear” was seen rummaging inside both Mercedes vehicles, accompanied by photos of interior claw marks.
To further confirm their findings, the Insurance Department had a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife review the videos, who pointed out that the “bear” in the footage was clearly a person in a bear costume.
Investigators then executed a search warrant at the suspects’ residence and found a bear costume.
The four Los Angeles County residents involved were arrested on November 13, 2024, and charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy. The three convicted defendants were each sentenced to 180 days (six months) of imprisonment, served through a weekend jail program.
Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, from Valley Village, was ordered to pay approximately $55,000 in restitution. Ruben Tamrazian, 26, from Glendale, was ordered to pay around $52,000. The restitution amount for Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, is still pending.
The fourth defendant, 39-year-old Ararat Chirkinian from Glendale, is scheduled to appear in preliminary hearings in September.