World of the Bizarre

Bizarre insurance scam saw fraudster dress up in a bear costume

By T.K. Randall
November 17, 2024 ·  0 comments

The actual costume used by the crooks. Image Credit: California Department of Insurance According to reports, four people from Los Angeles have been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy after conning insurers out of a whopping $141,839.

The scam, which has since come to be known as 'Operation Bear Claw', involved having one of the crooks dress up in a bear costume and then filming him 'attacking' a luxury car.

The footage was then submitted as evidence that the car had been damaged in a bear attack.

The fraudsters pulled the same stunt three times with three different insurance companies, each time providing evidence of the 'bear' entering the vehicle and damaging the interior.Insurers became suspicious that something was up when photos of the damage didn't seem genuine.

The scam was eventually discovered by the California Department of Insurance when a wildlife biologist was brought in to confirm that the animal was in fact a person in a costume.

The footage had been low resolution, grainy and in black and white to obscure the perpetrator.

Confirmation of the con was found in the form of a bear costume in the suspects' home.

You can check out the faked insurance footage as part of the local news report below.


Source: BBC News | Comments (0)

Tags: Crime, Bear