(Bloomberg) -- A Florida man who styled himself the “Wolf of Airbnb” will serve 4 1/4 years in prison after admitting he defrauded New York City landlords by illegally listing apartments for short-term rental.
Konrad Bicher, 32, was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty last year to a single count of wire fraud. He had faced as many as 20 years in prison if convicted at trial, but federal prosecutors agreed to a lesser sentencing range as part of his plea agreement.
They said Bicher took up the nickname in a nod to the “Wolf of Wall Street,” Jordan Belfort, because he was “someone who is hungry and ruthless enough to get on top of the financial ladder.”
In court on Monday, Assistant US Attorney Matthew Weinberg noted that Bicher — who the defense said was adopted by an Amish family — had told a co-conspirator in April 2020 that he wanted to rip off “every single landlord” in New York, knowing it would be hard for them to evict tenants due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The defendant sees this as an opportunity to just enrich himself,” Weinberg told US District Judge Lorna Schofield. “It is deeply offensive.”
Bicher’s punishment comes as the city continues to crack down on short-term rentals like those offered by Airbnb Inc. It comes just months after new laws went into effect requiring most hosts offering lodging for fewer than 30 days to apply for a license to operate in New York City. Airbnb has fought with the city for years over such regulations, as critics say the platform has led to higher rents and limited housing in a notoriously tight market. Many hosts say they need the extra income to help pay their mortgages.
Prosecutors said Bicher leased more than a dozen apartments in Manhattan that the city had barred from short-term rental to third parties or that couldn’t be subleased without the owner’s consent. They say he failed to pay the rent while listing the units on marketplaces including Airbnb. He and his associates made at least $1.17 million in income from the units while withholding more than $1 million in rent between July 2019 and April 2022, according to the US.
Bicher was also accused of obtaining more than half a million dollars in loans guaranteed by the government through a Small Business Administration program designed to provide relief for companies affected by the pandemic. All told, he will forfeit more than $1.74 million and pay more than $2.22 million in restitution.
His sentence is the same term as the US sought. The government said Bicher had defrauded landlords and taxpayers, had two prior criminal convictions and had “demonstrated an utter lack of remorse.” In arguing for leniency, the defense said many of the landlords knew what Bicher was doing and sought him out anyway when they had trouble finding renters. His story is a broader one of “insidious greed and corruption” in the industry, his lawyer, Howard Schumacher, said at the hearing.
The case is US v. Bicher, 22-cr-589, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
(Updates with details from hearing starting in second paragraph.)
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