Three people in California have been sentenced for insurance fraud in a bizarre scam that involved someone dressed in a bear costume damaging luxury cars.
The California Insurance Department said the three used a person in a bear suit to stage fake attacks inside a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes in 2024, then submitted fraudulent claims seeking nearly $142,000 in payouts from insurance companies. The department called it “Operation Bear Claw.”
Two Los Angeles-area men and a woman pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud and were sentenced to a weekend jail program, followed by probation, the department said in a news release Thursday. Two off them were ordered to pay over $50,000 in restitution.
A fourth person faces a court hearing in September.
The group is accused of providing several videos from the San Bernardino Mountains of a bear moving inside the vehicles 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.
A California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist reviewed the footage and 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.
Three individuals in California have been sentenced for their involvement in a unique insurance fraud scheme that featured a person dressed in a bear costume damaging luxury vehicles. The scheme, dubbed “Operation Bear Claw” by the California Insurance Department, involved these individuals staging fake incidents with a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes-Benz cars in 2024.
The defendants included two men from the Los Angeles area and a woman who all pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud. They received sentences that included participation in a weekend jail program followed by probation. Additionally, two of the defendants were ordered to pay restitution exceeding $50,000.
The fraudulent activities began when the group allegedly recorded videos in the San Bernardino Mountains, which showed a bear moving within the luxury cars. These videos were submitted as evidence to support their insurance claims, which sought nearly $142,000 in payouts. The California Insurance Department noted that the footage, which included images of scratches on the cars’ seats and doors, was critical in the investigation.
However, a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the submitted footage and concluded that it was « clearly a human in a bear suit. » This revelation raised suspicions about the legitimacy of the claims. Following this assessment, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the suspects’ residence, where they discovered the bear costume, further solidifying the evidence against them.
The bizarre nature of this scam highlights the lengths to which individuals may go to commit fraud. The incident also serves as a reminder of the broader issue of wildlife interactions in California, where bears have increasingly been known to invade homes and search for food, causing issues from Lake Tahoe to residential areas near Los Angeles.
As a result of this case, a fourth individual involved in the scheme is awaiting a court hearing scheduled for September. The incident underscores the ongoing challenges faced by insurance companies and law enforcement in combating fraud and protecting against unusual schemes that exploit the system.
