Four LA residents arrested for insurance fraud after claiming a "bear" damaged luxury cars, but insurers suspect a costumed human. (AP/California Department of Insurance)
- Operation Bear Claw uncovers $142,000 fraud involving fake bear damage to Rolls-Royce and Mercedes vehicles.
- Insurance company suspects costume after reviewing video footage of "bear" inside luxury cars.
- Wildlife biologist confirms suspicions, calling it "clearly a human in a bear suit" after reviewing videos.
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LOS ANGELES — California has seen its share of bears breaking into cars. But bears caught on camera entering luxury cars tipped off insurers that something wasn’t quite right.
In what’s dubbed “Operation Bear Claw,” the California Insurance Department said four Los Angeles residents were arrested Wednesday, accused of defrauding three insurance companies out of nearly $142,000 by claiming a bear had caused damage to their vehicles.
The group is accused of providing video footage from the San Bernardino Mountains in January of a “bear” moving inside a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes to the insurance companies as part of their damage claims, the department said. Photos provided by the insurance department show what appeared to be scratches on the seats and doors.
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Insurers Suspect Costume, Not Real Bear
The company viewing video of the Rolls-Royce suspected that it was not a bear inside, but someone in a bear costume.
Detectives found two additional claims and with two different insurance companies for the four with the same date of loss and at the same location. Similar video was provided of the “bear” inside the Mercedes vehicles.
It was not immediately known if the four people arrested had attorneys.
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Wildlife Expert Confirms Suspicions
The department had a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife review the three videos, who concluded it was “clearly a human in a bear suit,” the insurance department said.
After executing a search warrant, detectives found the bear costume in the suspects’ home, the department said.
Bears breaking into homes or trash cans in search of food have become a problem in California — from Lake Tahoe in the Sierra down to the foothill suburbs of Los Angeles, where some have been known to raid refrigerators and take dips in backyard pools and hot tubs.
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