- They may be con artists, but they’re very enterprising con artists.
The bear is in the details. If it wrecks cars like a bear, walks like a bear, and talks like a bear, is it a bear?
Most likely not, because bears don’t talk. Insurance scammers, however, do.
Three Southern California residents have been found guilty of an outlandish (but admittedly creative) insurance fraud scheme. They submitted multiple claims requesting compensation for cars wrecked by roaming bears.
A following insurance company investigation found curious details about the claims, such as them all taking place on the same day. The animal depicted in the convenient security camera footage of the bear attacks also looked a little off.
That would be because the “bear” was actually a guy in a furry costume, armed with a pair of meat-shredding claws.
The trio has now been sentenced to prison. A fourth member of the con artist gang is still waiting for a final sentence.
A Busy Bear
The arrests in the case happened already in 2024. If you don’t remember the details, here’s a refresher.
The people recently sentenced include Ruben Tamrazian (26) and Vahe Muradkhanyan (32) of Glendale, and Alfiya Zuckerman (39) of Valley Village. On January 8, 2024, the trio was vacationing in Lake Arrowhead, together with Ararat Chirkinyan (39).
Unfortunately, an unspeakable disaster struck them. Overnight, a bear snuck into several vehicles owned by the friend group and ruined them.
On that single night, the bear shredded the interior of a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost, a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG, and a 2022 Mercedes E350. The cars’ seats and body panels had been clawed at and torn apart.
Luckily, each of the bear attacks had been caught on security camera video. So, each of the car owners submitted a claim to their respective insurance company to get reimbursement for the damages.
Put together, their claims totaled $141,839.
‘Clearly a Human in a Bear Suit’
The insurance companies paid out, but they did feel uneasy about the whole thing. Something just didn’t feel right, so they launched an investigation.
Among the first odd details about the attacks was that they all happened on the same night of January 8.
Is it impossible for a rampaging bear to wreck multiple cars in an identical fashion during one night? No. Is it extremely unlikely? Yes.
The supposed bear was also really bizarre. Not that the insurance agents were wildlife experts, and the grainy video footage made exact details difficult to see, but the animal just seemed wrong.
So, the investigators asked an actual biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to check out the video. The expert immediately pronounced the thing in the video to be bogus.
“It was clearly a human in a bear suit,” their opinion was at the time.
Off to Prison
With that, the California Department of Insurance acquired a search warrant for the four suspects’ homes. In one of them, they indeed discovered a meticulously crafted bear suit.
It consisted of a furry jacket and leggings, a hollow bear head, furred shoes, and a pair of bear mittens with vicious claws. The claws weren’t really integrated into the suit, though.
Instead, they were just a pair of meat shredders you’d use to make shredded pork or something.
All suspects were arrested right away. They had since been awaiting trial and judgment, which finally arrived in April 2026.
The judge’s gavel sent Zuckerman, Tamrazian, and Muradkhanyan to 180 days in prison. They have also been ordered to pay restitution to the insurance companies.
In a way, they got off easy. Under California law, those charged with insurance fraud of this magnitude could end up behind bars for up to five years.
Perhaps the judge and jury were sufficiently impressed by the craftsmanship of the trio’s bear outfit.
Chirkinian’s case is still pending, and he is awaiting judgment.
While this case turned out to be fraud, bears can really destroy your car. Just check out the story of the bear that ate the upholstery of a vehicle.