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LOS ANGELES — California has seen its share of bears breaking into cars. But bears filmed getting into luxury cars have warned insurers something is wrong.

In what is being dubbed “Operation Bear Claw,” the California Department of Insurance said four Los Angeles residents were arrested Wednesday, accused of defrauding three insurance companies out of nearly $142,000 claiming a bear damaged their vehicles.

The group is accused of providing insurance companies with video footage of the San Bernardino Mountains in January, showing a “bear” riding in a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes, as part of their claims for damages, the department said. Photos provided by the insurance department show what appear to be scratches on the seats and doors.

The company viewing the video of the Rolls-Royce suspected that it was not a bear inside, but someone in a bear costume.

Detectives found two additional claims from two different insurance companies for all four with the same loss date and location. A similar video was released showing the “bear” inside Mercedes vehicles.

It was not immediately known whether the four people arrested had lawyers.

The department asked a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to review the three videos, who concluded it was “clearly a human in a bear costume,” the department said insurance.

After executing a search warrant, detectives found the bear costume at the suspects’ home, the department said.

Bears breaking into homes or trash cans in search of food have become a problem in California – from Lake Tahoe in the Sierra to the suburbs of Los Angeles, where some have been known to raid refrigerators and bathe in trash. swimming pools and hot tubs. .