Four Los Angeles residents were arrested Wednesday in what California’s Insurance Department is calling “Operation Bear Claw,” a sting operation that uncovered a brazen insurance fraud scheme, The Associated Press reports.
The suspects allegedly defrauded three insurance companies out of nearly $142,000 by falsely claiming bears damaged their luxury vehicles.
The alleged scam involved submitting video footage purportedly showing a bear entering and damaging a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the San Bernardino Mountains this past January. The videos, part of their insurance claims, showed a figure inside the vehicles causing what appeared to be scratches to the seats and doors.
However, the insurance company reviewing the Rolls-Royce footage became suspicious, noticing inconsistencies that suggested a human, not a bear, was inside the car. Further investigation revealed two additional claims filed on the same date and at the same location with two different insurance companies, all featuring similar video of a “bear” inside the Mercedes vehicles.
The California Department of Insurance enlisted a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to review the videos. The biologist concluded that the footage clearly depicted a person wearing a bear costume.
Following a search warrant, detectives discovered the bear costume at the suspects’ residence. The four individuals were subsequently arrested and charged with insurance fraud. It is unclear at this time if they have retained legal representation.
Bears regularly raid homes and trash cans in search of food across California, from Lake Tahoe to the Los Angeles foothills. Incidents of bears entering vehicles are not uncommon, but the scale and audacity of this alleged scheme caught the attention of investigators.
