Four men got mauled by the criminal justice system … after they dressed up in a bear costume and allegedly damaged several cars as part of a bizarre insurance fraud scheme in Southern California, authorities said.
Ruben Tamrazian, Ararat Chirkinian, Vahe Muradkhanyan and Alfiya Zuckerman were arrested Wednesday on charges of insurance fraud and conspiracy, but investigators didn’t know which one dressed up as the furry animal, according to the California Department of Insurance.
The L.A. area suspects are accused of scratching and tearing up 3 of their vehicles — and filing bogus claims to insurance companies to collect a total of $141,839 in damages.
On January 28, 2024, they allegedly filed an insurance claim stating that a bear had gotten into a 2010 Rolls-Royce and ripped it apart, providing video evidence to investigators.
But, once the investigators took a closer look at the footage, they could tell the bear wasn’t real and it was actually a person wearing a shaggy costume.
The alleged fraudsters committed the same crimes two more times using two different cars — a 2015 Mercedes and a 2022 Mercedes — according to the Department of Insurance.
Investigators went so far as to have a biologist review the 3 bear videos — and the expert determined it was a human in an animal suit. They also got a search warrant and found the bear costume in one of the suspects’ homes.
Got to give them points for creativity!