4 people accused of using bear costume in extensive insurance fraud

Four Los Angeles residents are accused of using a bear costume to defraud auto insurance companies.

On Wednesday, November 13, the California Department of Insurance said in a release that Glendale residents Ruben Tamrazian, 26, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, plus Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village, had been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy.

It happened after “suspects claimed on January 28, 2024, in Lake Arrowhead, a bear entered their 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost and caused interior damage to the vehicle,” the release said.

Officials added that the suspects also supplied their insurance company video recordings of the alleged bear attack.

In the video, the “bear” could be seen inside the vehicle moving between the front and back seats of the luxury car.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for crime news, ongoing court coverage and details on exciting unsolved cases.

Images of scratches on the doors and seats of the car were then revealed.

“Upon further examination of the video, the investigation determined that the bear was in fact a person in a bear costume,” officials said in the release.

“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,” the release added.

“Each of these 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 these vehicles,” the statement continued.

PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How fast can you solve it? Play now!

Video recordings were also provided to the other insurance companies. But after a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the photos, they concluded that it was a human dressed as a bear.

The bear costume was later found at a suspect’s home following a search warrant.

“The insurance companies were defrauded of $141,839 due to the alleged fraud perpetrated by the suspects,” the release read. “Department 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.”