Las insurers They face all kinds of scams every day, but some stand out much more than others, often because they tend to be quite crappy plans that do not end well for the scammers.
This is the case of an attempted fraud that took place a few months ago in Los Angeles. Several people claimed damages caused by a very in their luxury cars to their insurers, but in reality they had not been made by a bear, but by a person dressed as a bear.
A bear that only destroyed luxury cars. Too much coincidence
There are many people willing to scam insurance companies. There are those who try it in a fairly simple way and there are those who use more imagination, like four residents of Los Angeles, California (United States), who devised a plan to commit insurance fraud.
A few months ago, several insurers in Los Angeles had to deal with very similar cases: clients claimed damage to their luxury cars that had been caused by a bear that sneaked into the vehicles and destroyed them with its claws. In all cases, the clients provided a video in which they could see how the bear entered their car while they had it parked at the door of their home.
To some extent, it is believable that a bear could do this in that area of the United States, especially if there is a video that proves everything. The thing is, one of the insurance companies thought everything was very bad, so they reported their suspicions to the California Department of Insurance.
The California Department of Insurance opened an investigation under the name ‘Operation Bear Claw’; Bear Claw, or bear’s claw in Spanish, is a typical dessert in the United States, so the name of the research is in a humorous sense. Upon further examination of the video provided by the insurer, he determined that the bear was not a bear, but rather a person dressed as a bear.
As part of the investigations, the Insurance Department verified that there were other similar claims made to other insurers, but always in the same place and in the same period of time.
One of the cars affected by the alleged damage was a Rolls-Royce Ghost from 2010, while the other affected vehicles were a Mercedes-AMG G63 from 2015 and a Mercedes-Benz E 350 from 2022. Also
When reviewing the videos of all the cases, the Insurance Department was clear that in all of them, the bear was a person in disguise, but they wanted to make sure, so they contacted a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife who confirmed that the bear in the videos was indeed not a bear. Apparently, the costume is of a bear that has not been seen in the area for a hundred years.
The investigation ended up in the hands of the authorities and the Glendale Police obtained permits to search the suspects’ house, where they found a bear costume and meat-shredding claws. With this tool, the man dressed as a bear tore part of the upholstery of the damaged cars, simulating the damage that a real bear would have caused with its claws.
Finally, four people have been arrested on charges of insurance fraud and conspiracy. The California Department of Insurance says an arrest warrant has been issued for a fifth suspect, who is currently awaiting arrest. In total, the fraud amounted to $141,839, just over 136.000 euros to the current change.
Source: www.motorpasion.com
