An attempted fraud that you had to have the idea of. Four people suspected of setting up an insurance scam were arrested in California (United States) this Wednesday, November 13, after reporting that a bear had ravaged their luxury cars. It was actually a man disguised as an animal.
The subterfuge was discovered after an investigation triggered by the doubts of an insurance company, which these people asked to cover the damage inflicted on a Rolls Royce Ghost, a luxury sedan sold for several hundred thousand dollars. Ruben Tamrazian, 26, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, were all charged with conspiracy and insurance fraud.
The policyholders said in late January that a bear entered the vehicle in Lake Arrowhead, a mountainous region near Los Angeles, and tore up the seats and damaged the doors, according to a statement from the California Department of Insurance. They even provided CCTV footage purporting to show the animal in full slaughter.
But “upon further review of the video, the investigation determined that the bear was in fact a person disguised as an ursine,” according to the press release. Investigators then discovered that the suspects had made their money from this scheme. Two further claims from different insurance companies were made for two high-end Mercedes on the same date. Their requests amounted to a total of 141,839 dollars from their companies, or approximately 135,000 euros.
Each time, a bear was blamed for the damage and a video showing the aggressiveness of the alleged beast was sent as proof. A not so fanciful thesis, because California grizzly bears sometimes appear in unexpected places, often with devastation.
The images were sent to a Department of Wildlife biologist, who certified “that it was clearly a human in a bear costume,” according to the release. The search carried out in the suspects’ den also made it possible to find the animal disguise used for the scam.
