The California Department of Insurance has revealed a bizarre case of insurance fraud involving a person dressed in a bear costume to fake attacks on luxury vehicles. The perpetrators orchestrated staged incidents involving a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes-Benz cars in 2024, aiming to claim nearly $142,000 in insurance payouts.

Dubbed “Operation Bear Claw” by investigators, the scheme involved three individuals from the Los Angeles area. They have now pleaded no contest to felony charges of insurance fraud. According to a news release issued on Thursday, these individuals have been sentenced to participate in a weekend jail program, followed by a probation period.

Additionally, two of the defendants have been ordered to pay restitution exceeding $50,000 to the affected insurance companies. Meanwhile, a fourth individual connected to the case is scheduled for a court appearance in September.

The group allegedly submitted videos purportedly showing a bear inside the vehicles, filmed in the San Bernardino Mountains, as part of their fraudulent damage claims, the department explained.

A fourth person faces a court hearing in September.

The group is accused of providing several videos from the San Bernardino Mountains of a bear moving inside the vehicles to the insurance companies as part of their damage claims, the department said.

Photos provided by the insurance department show what appeared to be scratches on the seats and doors.

A California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist reviewed the footage and concluded it was “clearly a human in a bear suit”, the insurance department said.

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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