A Sydney man has faced court accused of staging dozens of car crashes across the city’s south-west to pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars from fraudulent insurance claims.

Detectives claim the alleged scheme involved fake identities and 45 cars.

Alleged fraudster Nadeem Ahmed from Lakemba was quiet as he walked down the steps of Bankstown courthouse with his lawyer by his side.

The 66-year-old is accused of staging 16 car crashes, netting him almost $400,000 from insurance payouts.

His court appearance came after Campsie detectives arrested him at Sydney Airport in July following an 18-month investigation.

Police claim Ahmed used fake identities to take out third-party insurance on cars which were later driven into other parked vehicles before a claim was lodged. 

He allegedly staged the crashes in  Punchbowl, Padstow, Regents Park, Greenacre, Yagoona and Auburn between 2019 and 2022.

Ahmed is charged with two fraud offences, one for allegedly pocketing $390,000 from the insurance claims and the other for attempting to claim another $73,000.