A 66-year-old man allegedly staged more than a dozen car accidents over three years to claim hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance money.

The Sydney man is accused of claiming more than $390,000 by setting up 16 collisions involving 45 vehicles in the Canterbury Bankstown area of south-west Sydney.

Police say fake identities were used to buy third-party insurance on a vehicle, which would then be used to allegedly collide with parked vehicles.

Claims were then made, and in total $390,480 was paid out by insurance companies.

The accused man, from Lakemba in the city’s west, was arrested at Sydney Airport.

He was charged with two counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception at Mascot Police Station.

He was granted conditional bail to appear before Bankstown Local Court today.