Four people have been arrested in Los Angeles for allegedly committing insurance fraud by claiming a bear had attacked their vehicles, though it actually turned out to be a person in a bear costume.
The suspects claimed that on January 28, 2024, a bear entered their 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost and damaged the vehicle’s interior. They provided video footage of the incident, which showed the alleged bear inside the car.
California’s Department of Insurance subsequently launched an investigation into the incident – titled Operation Bear – after an insurance company had suspected fraud.
Upon closer review of the video, the department said “the investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume”. Detectives then found two similar claims from two different insurance companies, and investigated further.
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The suspects in the additional claims had the same date of loss and occurred at the same location. This time, the claims involved 2015 Mercedes-AMG G 63 and a 2022 Mercedes-Benz E 350, and the suspects again appeared to use a bear costume to make it seem like a bear had also entered and damaged those vehicles.
Footage was also provided to those two insurance companies to substantiate the claims, which can be seen in the same Department of Insurance video.
For further confirmation that it wasn’t a real bear, the department said a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife was enlisted to review the three alleged bear videos and agreed it was a person in a bear suit.
Detectives executed a search warrant on November 13 and found the bear costume in the suspects’ home. It was also found the suspects utilised meat claws – a tool chefs use to shred meat – to simulate a bear attack.
The state insurance department says the insurance companies were defrauded the amount of $141,839 as part of the alleged fraud case.
Detectives were assisted by various Californian police authorities, and the local district attorney’s office is prosecuting the case.
