Suspects allegedly wore bear costume to commit insurance fraud
LOS ANGELES — On November 13, 2024, four Los Angeles area residents were arrested after a California Department of Insurance (CDI) investigation found the suspects allegedly committed insurance fraud by claiming a bear had caused damage to their vehicles. The investigation by CDI’s Inland Empire Regional Office determined the “bear” was actually a person in a bear costume.
Arrested were Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village. All four have all been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy.
CDI’s investigation began after an insurance company suspected fraud. The suspects claimed on January 28, 2024 in Lake Arrowhead, a bear entered their 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost and caused interior damage to the vehicle. They provided video footage to their insurance company, which showed the alleged bear in the vehicle.
Upon further scrutiny of the video, the investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume. Detectives found two additional insurance claims with two different insurance companies, for the suspects with the same date of loss and at the same location. Each of those claims involved two different vehicles, a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350, and the suspects again appeared to use a bear costume to make it appear that a bear also entered and damaged those vehicles. They provided the video footage to the other insurance companies as well to substantiate their claims.
To further ensure it was not actually a bear in the video, the CDI had a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) review the three alleged bear videos and they also opined it was clearly a human in a bear suit. After executing a search warrant, CDI detectives found the bear costume in the suspects’ home.
The insurance companies were defrauded of $141,839, because of the alleged fraud committed by the suspects. CDI detectives were assisted by the Glendale Police Department and the California Highway Patrol. The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting this case.
“This was great work done by CDI detectives and their law enforcement partners as well as a CDFW biologist. This case depicts the lengths that unscrupulous individuals will go to fraudulently obtain money by submitting false claims to insurance companies,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.
