Crime & Safety
Flushing Man Busted For Insurance Fraud Over $160K Sports Car: DA
A Flushing man was busted for lying that his McLaren 570 sports car was stolen to get a $160,000 insurance payout, prosecutors said.
FLUSHING, QUEENS — A Flushing man was busted for lying that his McLaren sports car was stolen to get a $160,000 insurance payout, just a couple months after he was caught racing it on Long Island, according to prosecutors and a news report.
Gaston Castro filed a police report on Oct. 5 claiming his light blue sports car went missing from its parking spot outside his home, according to the Queens district attorney's office. Police found the car in the brush off a road in Nassau County.
Two days later, he filed a stolen vehicle claim with GEICO Insurance to recoup the $160,000 he paid for the McLaren 570 sports car in 2018, prosecutors said.
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He later admitted that he'd actually been in a crash and left the car at the scene, according to prosecutors.
Casto, 36, now faces charges of insurance fraud, attempted grand larceny, making false statements and falsely reporting an incident for the scheme.
Find out what's happening in Flushing-Murray Hillfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Jewel Avenue resident was arrested in August for a 130 mph speed-racing stunt along Route 48 on Long Island, according to the New York Daily News.
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