LOS ANGELES – In a peculiar case of insurance fraud, three individuals in California have been convicted for orchestrating a scam involving a person disguised in a bear costume to vandalize high-end vehicles.
The California Department of Insurance revealed that the trio staged artificial bear attacks on a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes Benz cars in 2024. They then attempted to claim nearly $142,000 from insurers, labeling the investigation “Operation Bear Claw.”
Following their no-contest plea to felony insurance fraud, two men and a woman from the Los Angeles area were sentenced to a weekend jail program and probation, as per the department’s Thursday announcement. Additionally, two of them were mandated to reimburse over $50,000.
A fourth individual is scheduled for a court appearance in September.
The accused allegedly submitted videos, purportedly captured in the San Bernardino Mountains, depicting a bear inside the luxury cars to support their insurance claims, according to the department. Photos shared by the insurance authorities showed damage resembling scratches on the interiors of the vehicles.
However, a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, after examining the footage, determined that the supposed bear was indeed a person in a costume, the insurance department reported.
After executing a search warrant, detectives found the bear costume in the suspects’ home, the department said.
Bears breaking into homes or trash cans in search of food have become a problem in California from Lake Tahoe in the Sierra down to the foothill suburbs of Los Angeles, where some have been known to raid refrigerators and take dips in backyard pools and hot tubs.
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