In the so-called operation ‘Bear Claw’Last January, four people reported extensive damage to their insurance companies caused to the interior of their vehicles, all of them parked in Lake Arrowhead, a Californian mountain town. Specifically, they claimed damages in the amount of 141,839 dollars. The leather upholstery, paintings and dashboards of a Rolls Royce of 2010 and two Mercedes Benzfrom 2015 and 2022, were completely destroyed.
Contrary to what one might expect, the damage did not present the characteristics of a robbery or an act of vandalism. Nothing had been stolen from inside, there were simply scratches and tears everywhere. A bear had accessed the vehiclespossibly in search of food, completely destroying the interior of luxury cars.
Once the facts were reported, the owners would be convinced that they practically had the compensation in their pockets. But, unfortunately for them, they underestimated the capabilities of the Insurance Department.
a bear costume
To resolve the complaint, the agency compiled the recordings of the cameras located around the places where the assaults supposedly took place. And indeed, in one of them you could see what happened. A large, hairy being entered one of the cars, tearing the entire interior. But something seemed strange about the images.
With the help of a California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologistwho reviewed the videos, determined that the furry creature was not actually a bear, but rather a man dressed as a bear.
This hypothesis was later confirmed when the department, after executing a search warrant, found the key to the case in one of the complainants’ homes: a bear costume life-sized, along with some kind of sharp claws that, in reality, were nothing more than a kitchen utensil with which chefs tear meat. The alleged victims were, in reality, the authors of this attempted scam.
Consequently, these four people, residents of the Los Angeles area, have been arrested.
