A group of Los Angeles County residents were arrested after they allegedly staged bear attacks using a costume in order to receive payouts from their car insurance providers, investigators say.
The investigation, which was dubbed “Operation Bear Claw,” found that three of the four individuals submitted similar insurance claims after a so-called bear wrecked the interior of their cars in the San Bernardino County mountain community Lake Arrowhead, according to a release from the California Department of Insurance.
Investigators began to look into the incident after one of the insurance companies suspected fraud, revealing that multiple claims were filed for the same location on Jan. 28, 2024. The claimants allegedly provided video footage to their insurance companies of a supposed bear damaging the interior of their vehicles.