Operation Bear Claw: Four LA Residents Arrested for $141K Bear Costume Insurance Fraud

Nov 14, 2024, 12:52 PM

Four Los Angeles residents were arrested for allegedly staging bear attacks on luxury vehicles in an elaborate insurance fraud scheme totaling $141,839, the California Department of Insurance announced on Wednesday. The suspects damaged their own high-end cars, including a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost, Mercedes G63 AMG, and a Mercedes E350, by wearing a bear costume and using meat claws to scratch the interiors in Lake Arrowhead, San Bernardino County. They then filed insurance claims, submitting video footage purportedly showing a bear breaking into the vehicles and causing extensive interior damage. The investigation, dubbed 'Operation Bear Claw,' revealed that the supposed bear was actually a person in a costume. Search warrants executed at a suspect's home led to the discovery of the bear costume and handheld claws used in the fraud. The suspects allegedly defrauded three insurance companies out of more than $141,000.