We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.
Some things are just too hard to bear. Getting caught in an insurance scam is surely one of those things. In California, four people are looking at jail bars from the wrong side after an attempt at insurance fraud in which they claimed a bear damaged their vehicles. The trouble is, the culprit was clearly a person in a bear suit.
Advertisement
They should have pawsed to think that through.
Officials arrested four people in California this week after state investigators said they committed insurance fraud by claiming a animal damaged their vehicles, when in reality it was someone wearing a bear costume.
Los Angeles-area residents Ruben Tamrazian, 26, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, are each charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy in connection to the reported scam, the state Department of Insurance announced.
The state agency’s investigation began after an insurance company suspected fraud earlier this year, according to a news release.
Here’s the kicker; based on at least one of the autos described, it’s hard to write off the attempted scam as motivated by poverty.
The suspects told their insurance company a bear entered their 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost and caused interior damage to the vehicle on Jan. 28 in Lake Arrowhead, an unincorporated community in the San Bernardino Mountains, the release said.
A Rolls Royce? Seriously? A quick Web search reveals that a 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost can sell for between $80-100,000. For that money, one would expect the car to be pretty plush.
Advertisement
Of course, they didn’t get away with it, and in no small part because the scam was so transparent. The video, to anyone who knows bears, is revealing – and obviously fraud.
Watch “Department of Insurance – Operation Bear Claw” on #Vimeo https://t.co/vLYbLGzlFr
— Ward Clark (@TheGreatLander) November 14, 2024
It’s no surprise that the fuzz caught up with them, and ended up being the bearer of bad news. Well, bad for them – good for the insurance company. I’m sure there is a claws in the insurance contract that permits them to deny payment when obvious fraud is involved. And honestly, you don’t have to be a biologist to spot this as an obvious fake. A person in a bear suit looks and moves nothing like an actual bear. This attempt at a fast and furry-ous scam was doomed to fail from the moment they pawsed to put on the fake bear claws.
See Related: Montana Hunter Runs Afoul of Grizzly Bear
Vacation Season Cautions: Large Animals Can Be Dangerous
Imagine if they had gotten away with it – imagine how many people would have tried to duplicate the scam. It would be panda-monium!
I’ll be here all week. Try the veal, and don’t forget to tip your server.
Advertisement
Whenever you pawse for news here with us at RedState, you should consider upgrading to a VIP account. VIP status will open a plethora of unbearably great stories and podcasts here at RedState, and they are legitimately great – I’m not just panda-ing. And remember that a Gold-level account gets you access to all of our sister sites in Townhall Media: PJ Media, Twitchy, Hot Air, Bearing Arms, and Townhall.com, while the Platinum level gets you all that plus access to a catalog of feature-length films, and a credit to the new Townhall store. Use promo code SAVEAMERICA for a 50% discount.