Three Southern California residents have been sentenced to jail after orchestrating an elaborate insurance fraud scheme in which they staged fake bear attacks on luxury vehicles and collected more than US$141,000 (about RM669,000) in insurance payouts, authorities said on April 16.
Officials from the California Department of Insurance said the group used a person dressed in a bear costume to enter the vehicles and create scratch marks using claw-like kitchen tools, making the damage appear as if it was caused by wild animals.
The suspects later filed insurance claims with three separate companies, successfully obtaining payouts based on the fabricated incidents.
Two of the defendants, identified as Ruben Tamrazian, 26, and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, both from Glendale, were sentenced to 180 days in jail (approximately six months) and ordered to pay more than US$50,000 (about RM237,000) each in restitution.
A third defendant, Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Los Angeles’ Valley Village area, also received a 180-day jail sentence, with restitution to be determined at a later date. All three had earlier pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud charges.
A fourth individual, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, also from Glendale, is expected to face a preliminary court hearing in September.
Authorities said it was not immediately known whether the defendants were represented by legal counsel, and court documents for the case have not yet been made publicly available.
