'Michael Scott Would Do Something Like That:' Family Can’t Afford Luxury Cars Anymore. Then They Get a Bear suit. Does It Work?

A family reportedly tried to use a bear suit to get out of car payments for luxury cars they could no longer afford. 

In a TikTok that’s generated over 6.1 million views as of this writing, Makela Saint Fort (@makelasaintfort) recalls seeing a story that involved a family getting a bear suit to try to file an insurance claim for damage to their cars. Did it work?

How Did a Bear Suit Get Involved?

“You guys have no idea how often I think about that family who had like two luxury cars and then they couldn’t afford them,” Saint Fort begins. “So, instead of just, like, being normal and selling one or something, or just not getting a car that you can’t afford, they tried to run an insurance scam.”

Though her recollection is not perfect, she says she recalls that the father purchased a bear suit and affixed its claws with blades in order to cause damage to the cars. Then, the family submitted footage of the alleged “bear attack” to their insurance company to get a payout for the damage.

Did the Bear Suit Insurance Claim Work?

Saint Fort says the insurance company caught on to the ruse. She adds that had she been in the family’s position, she wouldn’t be concerned about possibly going to jail for insurance fraud. Rather, she would be embarrassed that she thought she was putting on a good show as a bear, only to be found out immediately.

“I would never show my face again,” she concludes.

She Can’t Be Serious … Right?

According to a compilation of news clips shared to TikTok, the attempted bear scam did happen.

“The owner of the car says it was a bear that scratched up the interior, but authorities say it wasn’t a bear at all. It was him dressed up in a bear suit,” an Inside Edition reporter says.

The man submitted video evidence of the supposed bear going on a full rampage and damaging three luxury cars to his insurance company.

In the video, it appears that a giant bear is ransacking a Rolls-Royce. Then, the massive beast appears from another angle to be ripping apart a Mercedes-Benz. One Mercedes wasn’t enough, as the “bear” is seen tearing apart another Mercedes in a different shot. 

The “bear” is seen using its arms as a human would to navigate inside the cramped interior of a vehicle. An arm was placed on the dashboard for support while the other clawed away at the interior. The bear costume also had wrinkles. These details dismantled the claim. 

Authorities discovered that the bear was actually a man in a suit, and the damage had been done with meat shredders affixed to the suit. Typically, when a bear damages a car, it looks completely destroyed, a far cry from the minor scratches to the interior left by the man in the suit.

He wasn’t alone. “Operation Bear Claw,” as the incident became known, led to the arrest of four male suspects. Their scheme led to several insurance companies being defrauded of $141,839.

“One of the wildest, dumbest alleged fraud schemes I’ve ever heard of,” Tony Dokoupil of CBS Mornings shares in the news clip TikTok. 

“That's quite emBEARassing,” a commenter on Saint Fort’s video added. 

“Such an unusual way to solve problems. Like this is sitcom thinking,” another shared. 

“The funniest part for me was the claw marks being perfectly straight lines,” a third replied. 

What Are the Consequences of Insurance Fraud?

Committing insurance fraud is a felony, the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) reports. 

“Any person who willfully makes a false statement or misrepresentation of a material fact for the purpose of obtaining or denying any benefit or payment or assisting another to obtain or deny any benefit or payment can be charged with a felony,” per NCDOI.

According to Progressive, car insurance fraud is done when someone lies about a certain event taking place to receive an insurance payout. 

Auto insurance fraud is broken down into two categories: soft and hard fraud. Soft fraud involves things like lying about your address, while hard fraud involves something like faking an accident. 

While the bear suit seemed like an incredible idea to score some easy cash, it quickly backfired, causing more financial damage, jail time, and loss of respect. Clearly, it’s best to be honest with your car insurance company and not buy cars you can’t afford.

Motor1 has contacted Saint Fort via Instagram and TikTok direct message. The story will be updated if she replies.