California trio sentenced for bear costume luxury car insurance fraud scheme

Three individuals from California have received sentences for felony insurance fraud following a scheme involving staged bear attacks on luxury vehicles. Dubbed "Operation Bear Claw" by authorities, the scam involved a person wearing a bear costume damaging a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes-Benz cars in 2024. The group submitted fraudulent insurance claims totaling nearly US$142,000, supporting their case with videos purportedly showing a bear inside the vehicles in the San Bernardino Mountains. A biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife examined the footage and determined it depicted a human in a bear suit, not an actual animal. Two men and one woman from the Los Angeles area pleaded no contest to the charges. Their sentences include participation in a weekend jail program, followed by probation, with two defendants ordered to pay over US$50,000 in restitution. A fourth individual connected to the case is scheduled for a court hearing in September. The California Insurance Department released the details in a news statement on Thursday, noting that photos submitted as evidence showed apparent scratches on car seats and doors.