LOS ANGELES — California authorities have handed down sentences to three individuals involved in an elaborate insurance fraud scheme that featured a person wearing a bear costume to simulate wildlife damage to expensive vehicles.
According to the California Insurance Department, the trio orchestrated fake bear attacks on a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes vehicles during 2024, then filed false insurance claims attempting to collect almost $142,000. Officials dubbed the investigation “Operation Bear Claw.”
Two men from the Los Angeles region and one woman entered no contest pleas to felony insurance fraud charges and received sentences including a weekend incarceration program and subsequent probation, the department announced Thursday. Two defendants must pay more than $50,000 in restitution.
A fourth suspect is scheduled for a court appearance in September.
Investigators say the group submitted multiple videos recorded in the San Bernardino Mountains showing what appeared to be a bear moving around inside the vehicles as evidence for their damage claims. Department photographs reveal apparent claw marks on vehicle seats and doors.
When a California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist examined the video evidence, the expert determined it was “clearly a human in a bear suit,” according to the insurance department.
During a search of the suspects’ residence under warrant, investigators discovered the bear costume, the department reported.
Genuine bear encounters have become increasingly common throughout California, from Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains to suburban areas near Los Angeles, where the animals have been documented entering homes, accessing refrigerators, and using residential pools and spas.
