It wasn’t quite a Bigfoot sighting.
Four California residents face insurance fraud and conspiracy charges for claiming a bear damaged their vehicles when it was allegedly a person in a bear costume, said Wednesday.
The California Department of Insurance said its investigation began after an insurance company suspected a claim for a Jan. 28 incident in Lake Arrowhead was fraudulent.
The suspects claimed a bear had entered and damaged a 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost, and provided video footage to the insurance company that appeared to show a bear rooting around inside the vehicle.
“Upon further scrutiny of the video, the investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume,” the department said.
Investigators found two additional claims with two other insurance companies for the same date and location, involving a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350.
The suspects again had video footage that claimed to show a bear entering and damaging the vehicles.
The department said California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist reviewed the videos and “opined it was clearly a human in a bear suit.”
Investigators executed a search warrant and found the bear costume in the suspects’ home.
Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale; Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale; Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale; and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village, have each been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy.
The insurance companies were allegedly defrauded out of $141,839, the department said.
-With TMX
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