Four people charged with insurance fraud after wreaking havoc in bear costumes

Four people have been arrested and charged with insurance fraud after they submitted an alleged fake video of a bear attacking three of their high-dollar cars.

According to a press release from the California Department of Insurance, the four Los Angeles residents allegedly committed insurance fraud by claiming a bear had attacked their cars, causing extensive damage in the process.

The department began investigating the claims after the initial insurance company suspected fraud, even though there is a video of the alleged bear attacking a 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost. During the investigation, they determined that the bear was actually a human in a bear costume.

Detectives also found two other insurance claims with other companies made by suspects claiming that they also faced damages to their Mercedes from a bear in the same location. The department stated that a video was provided with those claims as well, but they were certain it was a human in a bear costume again.

“To further ensure it was not actually a bear in the video, the Department had a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife review the three alleged bear videos and they also opined it was clearly a human in a bear suit,” the press release said.

California Department of Insurance

After getting a search warrant for the suspect’s homes, police found the bear costume used in the videos. It looks like your average bear costume according to the picture shared by the department, but for some reason, it’s wearing a white jacket as well.

To simulate the “bear” causing damage to the vehicles, the suspects allegedly used a pair of kitchen utensils. After a quick reverse image search of the apparent costume used, Dexerto identified them as Kitchen Mama meat shredder claws.

The suspects racked up a massive $141,839 bill for the alleged fraud which could cost each suspect up to $50,000 and five years in state prison.

The California Department of Insurance has investigated quite a few viral instances of insurance fraud over the years. Back in 2023, they charged YouTubers Christopher and Kimberly Phelps with insurance fraud and child endangerment after they repeatedly caused accidents for content.