They Bearly Tried to Fake It

If you’ve ever driven through the mountains of California, you’ve probably seen the signs warning you about bears. Black bears, in particular, have become increasingly bold in attacking people in their homes, camping in trailers, or walking their dogs. Bears also been known to break into cars, presumably looking for food, and the damage they leave behind can be significant — torn upholstery, scratched leather, the works.

The good news, if you’re in such an area, is that insurance policies typically cover the damage from bear attacks. That’s what made a January 2024 insurance claim from Lake Arrowhead, in the San Bernardino Mountains, seem plausible at first. The claimants reported that a bear had entered their 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost and caused interior damage. They even had video footage to back it up, which you can see here — grainy images of what appeared to be a bear rummaging through the luxury vehicle. Similar claims followed for a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350, all allegedly damaged on the same date at the same location. The damages were north of $100,000 — and the victims were in line for a payout.

There was just one problem: the bear wasn’t a bear.

Insurance investigators did their due diligence and decided to take a closer look at the video. To a layperson, maybe the bear seemed legit, but to those in the know, not so much. The way the “bear” moved didn’t quite match how an actual bear would behave inside a vehicle. To confirm their suspicions, the California Department of Insurance called in an expert — a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. As the state insurance department reported, the scientist reviewed the footage and reached a definitive conclusion: “it was clearly a human in a bear suit.”

The investigation, which the department cheekily dubbed “Operation Bear Claw,” moved quickly from there. Detectives executed a search warrant at the suspects’ home and, sure enough, found the bear costume used in the videos. (You can see that here.) Three Los Angeles-area residents — Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, Ruben Tamrazian, 26, and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32 — were arrested and charged with felony insurance fraud. A fourth suspect, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, still faces a court hearing in September. As the New York Times reported, “It was not immediately clear if the defendants had lawyers,” or, for that matter, if their layers were actual people or just bears in suits.

Regardless, the trio didn’t fare too well in court. In April 2026, the three pleaded no contest to the charges, and as the BBC reported, each was sentenced to 180 days in jail plus two years of supervised probation. Zuckerman and Tamrazian were also ordered to pay more than $52,000 each in restitution. The total loss, pre-restitution, to the insurance companies was $141,839 — apparently, the insurers paid out some of the claims before the wannabe Winnies were caught.

And most importantly, the scammers learned a hard lesson: When it comes to insurance fraud, you really shouldn’t poke the bear.

Bonus fact: There are lots of bears in California and the state’s flag (here) displays a California grizzly bear (Ursus arctos californicus). But if you go to California, there’s no chance of seeing one in the wild — the California grizzly has been extinct since 1924.

From the Archives: Brown Bear, Banned Bear: A ridiculous reason to ban an iconic book.