Men Convicted Of Fraud For Damaging Luxury Cars While Wearing Bear Costumes

Three Los Angeles-area residents have been convicted and sentenced after staging fake bear attacks on luxury vehicles as part of an insurance fraud scheme, authorities announced Thursday (April 16). The California Department of Insurance, working under the name Operation Bear Claw, uncovered the plot after suspicious claims were filed about a supposed bear damaging high-end cars in Lake Arrowhead. Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village; Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale; and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale, each pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud. Prosecutors said the group used a person in a bear costume to stage attacks on a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost, a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG, and a 2022 Mercedes E350, then submitted fraudulent claims to insurance companies.