Talk about a bear-faced lie! In a wild scheme, a person donned a bear costume and caused a grizzly amount of damage to cars, hoping to paw off the blame on real bears.

　　The four individuals involved in the scheme presented video footage as proof, thinking their plan was unbearably clever. But the authorities at the California Department of Insurance (CDI) werent fooled by the fur-midable disguise, and an insurance fraud case was swiftly opened.

　　Operation Bear Claw That department uncovered an audacious scheme, dubbed Operation Bear Claw, and on Wednesday announced four Los Angeles residents — Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale; Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale; Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale; and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village — have all been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy to allegedly defraud three insurance companies of nearly $142,000.

　　The damage inflicted was on their own luxury vehicles — a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes — in the San Bernardino Mountains.

　　Insurance Fraud: Bear of a Scheme The submitted claim videos raised some eyebrows at the department. After reviewing the proof, questions were raised about the legitimacy of the bear. To help confirm whether it was actually a bear in the video, CDI officials asked a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to review the evidence and alleged bear videos.

　　The supposed bear damage submitted to the insurance companies; (photos/California Department of Insurance) According to CDIs statement, [the biologist] also opined it was clearly a human in a bear suit. After executing a search warrant, detectives found thebear costumein the suspects’ home.

　　Authorities also issued a warrant for a fifth suspect, who has not been named, which is still outstanding.

　　Mauled in Her Home: California Confirms First Fatal Bear Attack in State’s HistoryAfter months of investigating, California authorities confirmed a 71-year-old woman’s death was the result of an unprecedented bear attack. Read more