Four Los Angeles-area residents were arrested on Wednesday, Nov. 13 on suspicion of insurance fraud and conspiracy after allegedly falsely claiming a bear got into their vehicles and damaged them.
There was no bear, rather, a person in a bear costume was seen in video footage provided with insurance claims.
Dubbed “Operation Bear Claw,” the California Department of Insurance began an investigation after an insurance company suspected fraud when the suspects, residents of Glendale and Valley Village, in January reported a bear had gotten into their Rolls-Royce Ghost in Lake Arrowhead.
Video footage was provided to the insurance company. The footage was reviewed by investigators, who determined the video showed a person in a bear suit. A biologist from the California Department of Wildlife also reviewed the footage, concurring with investigators that the footage “was clearly a human in a bear suit,” according to a news release from the California Department of Insurance. After executing a search warrant, detectives found the bear costume in the home of the suspects.
The investigation also revealed two other insurance claims made by the suspects at other insurance companies, citing the same date and location of loss and bear-related circumstances, with different vehicles, a Mercedes G63 AMG and a Mercedes E350.
“This is definitely unique, but we have seen, through our cases, that people will do a lot of things to try and get an undeserved insurance payout,” said Allison Hensley, deputy press secretary at the California Department of Insurance
Photos provided by the department showed the reported damage, puncture and scratch marks on the interior doors and seats of the vehicles.
“It isn’t the first case that we’ve seen that has baffled us, but this one definitely was the first one in a while,” Hensley said.
The financial impact on the insurance companies of the alleged fraud totaled over $140,000.
Staff reporter Sydney Barragan contributed to this report.
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