Three individuals in the U.S. state of California have been sentenced after being found guilty of staging fake bear attacks on luxury vehicles in an attempt to claim insurance payouts.
The convicted individuals -- Alfya Zuckerman, Ruben Tamrazian, and Vahe Muradyan -- were sentenced to 180 days in jail after being found guilty of insurance fraud last Thursday. A fourth suspect, Ararat Cherkinian, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in September.
According to prosecutors, the group submitted video evidence to three different insurance companies showing alleged “bear attacks” on their vehicles. However, investigators later discovered that the so-called bear damaging a Rolls-Royce was actually a person wearing a bear costume and moving in a human-like manner.
California Insurance Department Commissioner Ricardo Lara confirmed the findings in a statement, saying that what initially appeared unbelievable turned out to be an elaborate fraud scheme.
He emphasized that insurance fraud is a serious crime that ultimately increases costs for consumers, adding that no case is too small to escape investigation.
