Los Angeles Bear Costume Gang Nets $141K With Luxury Car Claw Scam

After officials spotted suspicious paw work in the footage, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist confirmed the misbehaving mammal was “clearly a human in a bear suit.” The fraudsters submitted videos from Lake Arrowhead—where “Are there brown bears in California?” and “Can insurance companies deny animal damage claims?” are trending search queries—showing the furry imposter scaling back seats and scratching leather. Detectives then uncovered identical claims for both a Mercedes G63 AMG and E350, making “Operation Bear Claw” a wild ride of luxury, deception, and faux wildlife.
Bear costume insurance fraud in Los Angeles: Four suspects net $141,839 by staging claw attacks on luxury cars. Was it a black bear, a Mercedes, or just a furry with tools? Turns out, the 'bear' left behind a very human trail of paw prints.











