They dressed like a bear and damaged a Rolls-Royce in an audacious insurance scheme
Los Angeles Times • • nation
Key Points:
- A Southern California woman and two men were sentenced to jail for staging fake bear attacks on luxury cars, including a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes-Benzes, to fraudulently claim insurance payouts totaling $141,839.
- The scheme was uncovered after an insurance investigator noticed suspicious movements in surveillance footage that showed a person in a bear costume, leading to a deeper probe involving wildlife experts.
- Two insurance companies paid out claims based on the staged attacks, while a third denied the claim after reviewing the footage; the defendants were found with a bear suit and meat claws used in the fraud.
- The defendants pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud and received 180-day jail sentences with supervised probation, along with orders to pay restitution; one defendant's case is still pending.
- Experts note that insurance fraud is common and costly, often involving staged incidents, and that companies sometimes pay out claims quickly to avoid legal disputes, which scammers exploit.
