As part of Operation Bear Claw, the California Department of Insurance announced the arrests Wednesday of four Los Angeles residents, accused of stealing nearly $142,000 from three insurance companies by pretending that a bear had caused damage to their vehicles.
The group is accused of providing insurance companies with video footage taken in the San Bernardino Mountains in January, showing a “bear” moving inside a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes, in the part of their claims for compensation, the department said. Photos provided by the insurance department show what appear to be scratches on the seats and doors.
The company that viewed the video of the Rolls-Royce suspected that it was not a bear inside, but a person dressed as a bear.
Detectives found two other claims from two different insurance companies for the four vehicles, with the same date of loss and at the same location. A similar video showed the alleged “bear” inside the Mercedes.
It is not yet known whether the four people arrested are represented by a lawyer.
The department asked a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to review the three videos, who concluded it was “clearly a human in a bear costume,” the insurance department said .
After executing a search warrant, detectives found the bear costume at the suspects’ home.
Bears breaking into homes or trash cans in search of food have become a problem in California – from Lake Tahoe in the Sierra to the suburbs of the Los Angeles foothills, where some have been known to rob refrigerators and swim in the properties’ swimming pools and jacuzzis.
