Overview
- Three Los Angeles-area residents pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud and received 180 days in a weekend jail program plus two years of supervised probation.
- Alfiya Zuckerman and Ruben Tamrazian were ordered to pay $55,360 and $52,260 in restitution, insurers reported total losses of about $141,839, and Vahe Muradkhanyan’s restitution is pending.
- Prosecutors say the group staged fake bear attacks on a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost and two Mercedes in Lake Arrowhead and submitted video to support the claims.
- After a carrier flagged inconsistencies, state investigators consulted a California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist who concluded the “bear” was a person, and detectives later seized the costume with a search warrant.
- A fourth suspect, Ararat Chirkinian, has a preliminary hearing set for September 2026, and regulators say the case highlights how quick payouts can let staged claims slip through before deeper reviews stop them.