The plot, dubbed "Operation Bear Claw" by Californian authorities, unfolded earlier this year when the suspects claimed that a bear had wrecked the interior of their luxurious 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost while it was parked in Lake Arrowhead, a town known for its large black bear population.
The fraudsters went so far as to submit video footage of the supposed bear attack to their insurer. The clip showed a furry creature entering the vehicle’s back seat and scratching the upholstery. However, the footage raised suspicion almost immediately. The main issue? The bear in question was a shade of light brown—far from the typical black bear species native to California. On top of that, its movements were noticeably un-bear-like, giving away the ruse.
State officials, including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, were quick to call out the discrepancies. According to them, the only bears in California are black bears, and the creature in the footage seemed far from being one of them. As it turned out, the animal wasn’t a bear at all, but rather a human clad in a bear costume, attempting to pass off a fraudulent claim of damage to the vehicle.
The investigation has brought to light not only the audacity of the fraud but also the strange lengths to which some individuals will go to exploit insurance systems. What started as a dubious claim in a bear-infested region has now become a case study in the creativity (and folly) of insurance fraud.
“Upon further scrutiny of the video, the investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume,” police told NPR. “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.”
Investigators were reasonably positive they were dealing with a hoax after discovering that the four suspects had submitted two further insurance claims involving bear attacks on other premium automobiles, a 2022 Mercedes E350 and a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG. However, they chose to gather the most important piece of evidence—the bear itself—because they didn't want to leave anything to chance.
When California police investigators carried out a search warrant at the residence of the four suspects, they discovered a bear costume that had a furry head, paws, and metal instruments shaped like claws that were used to cause the damage. The case is still pending, but if convicted, the four defendants may go to jail for cheating businesses out of around $142,000.