LOS ANGELES, April 20, 2026—A bizarre insurance fraud scheme involving a bear costume, luxury vehicles and falsified damage claims has now ended in convictions for three Los Angeles area residents following a California Department of Insurance investigation dubbed “Operation Bear Claw.”

The defendants used a person in a bear suit to stage fake attacks on high-end vehicles, then submitted fraudulent claims seeking payouts from insurance companies.

“What may have looked unbelievable turned out to be exactly that—and now those responsible are being held accountable,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “My department’s investigators uncovered the facts, exposed this scam and helped bring these defendants to justice.”

The investigation began after an insurance company flagged a suspicious claim tied to a January 28, 2024, incident in Lake Arrowhead. The suspects claimed a bear entered their 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost and caused interior damage, submitting video footage to support the claim.

Upon further review, department detectives determined the “bear” in the video was a person wearing a bear costume. 

Investigators later uncovered two additional fraudulent claims submitted to separate insurance companies involving the same date and location, this time tied to a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350.

To further verify the deception, a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the footage and concluded the animal shown was clearly a human in a bear suit.

Detectives later executed a search warrant and recovered the costume from the suspects’ home.

The total loss to the insurance companies was $141,839.

California Department of Insurance news release and photo