Three Californians were convicted for their involvement in a “bizarre” insurance fraud scam that involved pretending to have interior damage on expensive cars while dressed as bears.
According to the California Department of Insurance , the three staged fake attacks inside a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes in 2024 using a person wearing a bear suit. They then filed false claims with insurance companies, seeking benefits totaling about $142,000, FOX 11 Los Angeles reports.
The three suspects sent their insurance companies video footage of the purported animal “attack” to bolster their claims. After watching the video, a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife ruled that it was “clearly a human in a bear suit,” department of Insurance said.
Detectives found the bear costume in the defendants’ residence after carrying out a search warrant.
