One for the Books — A Bear Suit & Auto Damage Fraud

Four people in Los Angeles think insurance fraud investigators are really dumb. Actually, it’s the people involved in the crime that are stupid. Investigators are pretty smart but it also doesn’t take much to determine a bear suit is a bear suit.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said the fraudsters actually thought insurance adjusters would think a guy in a bear suit looked enough like a real bear to get the insurers to pay for damages the “bear” did to some expensive automobiles.

The four people staged fake bear attacks on a Rolls-Royce and a couple of Mercedes and then filed claims looking for $142,000 in damages. As noted earlier, it fooled no one.

“What may have looked unbelievable turned out to be exactly that — and now those responsible are being held accountable,” Lara said. “My Department’s investigators uncovered the facts, exposed this scam, and helped bring these defendants to justice. Insurance fraud is a serious crime that drives up costs for consumers, and no scheme is too outrageous for us to investigate.”

Here are their names and their sentences:

Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village, pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud (injuring or destroying insured property). She was sentenced to 180 days in jail (to be served through a weekend jail program), two years of supervised probation, and ordered to pay $55,360 in restitution.

Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale, pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud (injuring or destroying insured property). He was sentenced to 180 days in jail (weekend jail program), two years of supervised probation, and ordered to pay $52,268 in restitution.

Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale, pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud (presenting a false insurance claim). He was sentenced to 180 days in jail (weekend jail program), two years of supervised probation, with restitution to be determined.

The fourth person involved is Ararat Chirkinian. He is scheduled to return to court September 2026 for a preliminary hearing.

Source link: California Department of Insurance — https://bit.ly/4cXNjkT

Source link: Associated Press — https://bit.ly/48buOaa