Wild attacks on luxury cars puzzle insurance officials — until wildlife expert notices something odd about 'bear' on video



Authorities were baffled by a series of supposed “bear attacks” on luxury cars in California earlier this year.

There were deep claw marks on the interiors of the vehicles and even video evidence of the alleged beast doing damage. However, investigators soon realized that the "bear attacks" were not what they seemed.

The three insurance companies claimed they were defrauded of $141,839 because of the alleged insurance-fraud scheme.

An insurance claim was made regarding an alleged "bear attack" on a 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost on Jan. 28 in Lake Arrowhead — an unincorporated community in the San Bernardino mountains. The reported animal was said to have caused interior damage to the vehicle.

The California Department of Insurance said in a statement that there were two other insurance claims on the same date of loss and in the same location. The "bear" was said to have attacked a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350.

This raised eyebrows with insurance officials.

The people who made the claims included surveillance video of the alleged "bear" attacks.

Investigators reviewed the videos and noticed the bear looked rather peculiar.

The California Department of Insurance asked a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to review the three alleged "bear attack" videos — and the biologist quickly got to the bottom of it.

“Upon further scrutiny of the video, the investigation determined the bear was actually a person in a bear costume,” the California Department of Insurance wrote.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant, and detectives found the bear costume in one of the suspect's homes. The bear costume included metal claws that reportedly were used to damage the luxury cars.

The California Department of Insurance, the Glendale Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol ascertained that four suspects were involved in the alleged insurance fraud scam.

Police arrested Ruben Tamrazian — a 26-year-old from Glendale; Ararat Chirkinian — a 39-year-old from Glendale; Vahe Muradkhanyan — a 32-year-old from Glendale; and Alfiya Zuckerman — a 39-year-old from Valley Village. All four suspects have been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy.

The three insurance companies claimed they were defrauded of $141,839 over the alleged scheme.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.

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Michigan doctor convicted of defrauding insurance companies of $30 million, writing 'medically unnecessary prescriptions' for opioids



A Michigan doctor has been found guilty on 30 of the 32 charges related to overprescribing opioids and insurance fraud that federal prosecutors leveled against him.

David Jankowski, 62, of Bingham Farms, Michigan, ran what amounts to an opioid "pill mill," writing perhaps thousands of what prosecutors called "medically unnecessary prescriptions" for controlled substances such as Oxycontin, Oxycodone, morphine, hydrocodone, Xanax and others.

According to an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services, Jankowski issued or authorized the issuance of more than 1.7 million Schedule II substances, 800,000 Schedule III substances, and 870,000 Schedule IV substances, all to lure opioid-addicted patients to his practice and use them to engage in an insurance fraud scheme.

“The improper distribution of prescription drugs outside the course of ordinary medical practice causes significant harm. It is in everyone’s best interests to keep these highly addictive substances off the street, and it is particularly disturbing when a trusted physician is the vehicle for the illegal distribution of opioids,” U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison stated.

Jankowski even exchanged opioid prescriptions for cash given to him by recruiters who would bring in even more patients to expand his practice and increase the number of fraudulent insurance claims he could make.

Jankowski operated a clinic called Summit Medical Group, which has locations in Southfield and Dearborn Heights, Michigan, both suburbs of Detroit. Jankowski then amassed a sizeable clientele by providing patients with easy access to opioids, then filing fraudulent insurance claims on their behalf. According to evidence presented at trial, Jankowski collected almost $30 million in fraudulent auto and private medical insurance claims and an additional $6 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid.

“This defendant exploited vulnerable patients and the health care system by prescribing and billing for medically unnecessary prescription medications. By doing so, he violated his oath to do no harm, and defrauded health care insurance programs. This type of crime puts patients at risk and makes medical care more costly for all of us,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “Thanks to the diligent work of the FBI and our law enforcement partners, we are able to address this important aspect of health care fraud and continue our mission of bringing those who operate these criminal schemes to justice.”

Jankowski will be sentenced on November 15, 2022 at 1:30 p.m. local time. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Man threw himself in front of train, lost two legs in scheme to collect insurance money, court finds



A Hungarian court has ruled that a man who lost both of his legs after being struck by a train stepped in front of the moving vehicle intentionally in order to collect millions of dollars in insurance payouts.

The man — identified in court documents as Sandor Cs. due to the country's strict privacy laws — has claimed since July 30, 2014, that he stepped on glass, lost his balance, and fell onto the railroad tracks just outside a train station in the Hungarian village of Nyircsaszari.

But on Nov.9, the Pest Central District Court ruled that Cs. had deliberately put himself in the train's path in an attempt to swindle the system. He was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay more than $5,000 in legal fees, the Daily Mail reported.

Authorities in the country had reportedly suspected that the 54-year-old inflicted the injury himself on purpose in order to claim a $3.2 million insurance payout.

Their suspicions stemmed from the discovery that Cs. had taken out 14 high-risk life insurances policies in the year leading up to the strange incident. His wife attempted to file the claims soon after the incident, but the insurance companies refused to pay on grounds that the injury was caused intentionally.

The collision resulted in the defendant losing both of his legs from the knee down. He is now wheelchair-bound and uses prosthetic limbs.

Cs. reportedly maintains his innocence and has argued that he took out the insurance policies after allegedly being advised that returns on the insurance policies would be better than returns from savings accounts.

"I find the ruling very peculiar. Naturally, it isn't what I expected, I am disappointed," he told local news outlet Blikk following the ruling.

He vowed to appeal if possible, saying, "I need to see this through to the end because, as is, this is not right, and the court must feel the same way."

According to the International Business Times, the seven-year trial took such a long time in part because the train conductor changed his story. After originally saying that the defendant fell, he later claimed that he had thrown himself in front of the train on purpose.

The defendant reportedly worked in the thermal energy industry prior to the incident. He now says he is unable to work and that the medical bills and legal fees have bankrupted him.

Father gets 212 years in prison for 'evil and diabolical' plot to kill his two autistic sons for life insurance



An illegal immigrant in California has been sentenced to 212 years in prison for plotting to kill his family in order to cash in on the accidental death insurance policies he had fraudulently taken out on their lives.

Ali F. Elmezayen, 45, was given the maximum sentence for a range of crimes including wire fraud, mail fraud, identity theft, and money laundering in federal court on Thursday for engaging in a scheme that resulted in his driving off a wharf at the Port of Los Angeles in 2019 with his common law wife and his two autistic sons in the car. His two sons were killed in the crash, but their mother, Rehab Diab, survived.

"He is the ultimate phony and a skillful liar ... and is nothing more than a greedy and brutal killer," U.S. District Judge John F. Walter said during sentencing, according to a Department of Justice news release. "The only regret that the defendant has is that he got caught."

In handing out the maximum punishment, Walter characterized the scheme as "evil and diabolical" and noted the "vicious and callous nature of his crimes."

Between 2012 and 2013, around the same time he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Elmezayen purchased more than $3 million in life and accidental death insurance policies for his family and for himself from eight different insurance companies. After purchasing the policies, he repeatedly called the companies — sometimes pretending to be his ex-wife — to make sure the policies were active.

Elmezayen even called two of the companies to verify that they would not investigate claims made two years after the policies were purchased, prosecutors alleged. Recordings of the phone calls were played for the jury during the trial.

Then, in 2015, shortly after the two-year contestability period on the policies had expired, Elmezayen drove his car into the ocean with his ex-wife and two youngest children inside. The couple has another son who was away at camp at the time of the incident.

Prosecutors said Elmezayen kept his window open to facilitate his own escape to shore. His ex-wife, who doesn't know how to swim, somehow managed to survive with the help of a fisherman who threw her a flotation device. However, his two autistic sons — 8-year-old Abdelkrim and 13-year-old Elhassan — drowned after being trapped inside the vehicle.

"Mr. Elmezayen conceived a cold-blooded plan to murder his autistic sons and their mother, then cash in on insurance policies," Acting United States Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison said in the news release.

"Fathers are supposed to protect their children but instead, Elmezayen drove his boys straight to their certain death in exchange for cash," added Kristi Johnson, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office.

In addition to sentencing Elmezayen to more than 200 years in prison, Walter also ordered he pay $261,751 in restitution to the insurance companies that he defrauded.

According to NBC News, "Elmezeyan is also facing murder charges in a pending state case, where he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole."

Hate hoax accusation: N-word, KKK, swastikas spray-painted on car. But authorities say the owner did it.



A vehicle was discovered last month spray-painted with the N-word, KKK, and swastikas, as well as messages in support of President Donald Trump's re-election — and against Black Lives Matter — in North Buffalo, New York.

Image source: WGRZ-TV video screenshot

But now authorities say the owner of the BMW X5 carried out the vandalism, WGRZ-TV reported.

What are the details?

Erie County District Attorney John Flynn last week said 18-year-old Clifton Eutsey allegedly spray-painted his own car and is facing multiple charges, the station said:

  • third-degree insurance fraud, a felony;
  • falsely reporting an incident, a misdemeanor;
  • offering a false instrument for filing, a misdemeanor; and
  • falsifying business records, a misdemeanor.

The graffiti also included a homophobic slur, and the car's windshield was smashed, the Buffalo News reported. The police report also said sugar was poured into the gas tank, WGRZ added.

Image source: WGRZ-TV video screenshot

Eutsey was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled for a Jan. 11 felony hearing, the station said, adding that if convicted on all charges, Eutsey faces up to seven years in prison.

Frank LoTempio III, Eutsey's attorney, entered a plea of not guilty on his client's behalf, the News reported, adding that Flynn said there's video evidence to support the fraud allegation.

"Behave out there, Mr. Eutsey," City Court Judge Shannon Heneghan said, according to the paper.

More charges

Eutsey faces felony charges in a separate incident, WGRZ said, adding that Buffalo police officers allegedly found him in possession of two loaded, illegal firearms during an Oct. 24 traffic stop.

He was arraigned on two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon as well as traffic violations, including driving without a license, the station said.

Eutsey posted bail — set at $20,000 cash or bond, or $10,000 partially secured bond — and was released, WGRZ reported. He's scheduled for a Jan. 4 felony hearing on the latter charges, the station said.

Anything else?

TheBlaze has extensively reported on hate crime hoaxes:

Woman uses circular saw to cut off own hand in attempt to commit $1 million insurance fraud. Now she's headed to jail.



A Slovenian woman and her boyfriend are headed to jail after a court determined the pair engaged in insurance fraud.

The woman, Julija Adlesic, was determined to have cut off her own hand with a circular saw in an attempt to secure more than $1 million in disability insurance payments.

What are the details?

According to the Slovenian Press Agency, 22-year-old Adlesic and her boyfriend concocted the plan to cash out a variety of disability insurance policies after she decided to cut off her own hand in early 2019.

Adlesic's boyfriend, Sebastien Abramov, was said to have taken out at least five insurance policies on Adlesic. The five policies totaled approximately $1.16 million.

Following the grisly incident, Adlesic rushed to the hospital — leaving her hand behind — and told doctors that she accidentally severed the hand while cutting tree branches.

Her leaving the hand behind wasn't a coincidence or an accident, according to the prosecution, which said the couple intentionally left the severed hand behind to ensure the injury's permanence.

Even though they left the hand at the scene of the incident, experts were able to reattach her extremity.

Ahead of the injury, prosecution alleged, the couple was looking up internet searches regarding prosthetic hands.

The Ljubljana District Court on Friday found Adlesic and Abramov guilty of insurance fraud and sentenced the pair to two and three years in prison, respectively.

'Only I know how it happened'

Throughout the trial, Adlesic insisted she was the victim of a terrible accident and did not intentionally cut off her own hand.

In a statement, Adlesic said, "No one wants to be crippled. My youth has been destroyed. I lost my hand at the age of 20. Only I know how it happened."

Of the couple's impending incarceration, Judge Marjeta Dvornik said, "We believe the sentences are fair and appropriate, and will serve their purpose."

You can read more on the history of the case here.

SLOVENSKENOVICE.SI: Julija Adlešič pred razglasitvijo sodbewww.youtube.com