NEW YORK — A Florida man who bragged about being the “Wolf of Airbnb” was sentenced Monday to more than four years in prison for defrauding New York City hosts and a federal pandemic relief program.
Konrad Bicher, 32, of Hialeah, Florida, was sentenced in a federal court in Manhattan by Judge Lorna G. Schofield.
The four-year, three-month sentence came after Bicher pleaded guilty a year ago to a charge of wire fraud. He was also ordered to forfeit $1.7 million and pay $2.2 million in restitution. He declined to speak during the sentencing.
Prosecutors said Bicher operated at least 18 Manhattan apartments as “mini-hotels” while using the pandemic as an excuse to pay landlords only $1 million in rent from 2019 through April 2022. They said he also received government-guaranteed loans through a program meant to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his sentencing request, Bicher’s attorney argued for leniency and blamed landlords for a number of problems with the Manhattan apartments.
In a statement released by prosecutors, the government alleged that Bicher fought landlords’ lawsuits by falsely claiming he was suffering from coronavirus-related issues and lying about his residency and use of the units to take advantage of New York City’s tenant protections.
Prosecutors said he was living in Florida at the time of the fraud and traveling for pleasure.
They said Bicher bragged to the media and friends that he was the “Wolf of Airbnb,” and that the phrase may refer to the “Wolf of Wall Street,” the title of a memoir by former stockbroker Jordan Belfort, who made a fortune in penny stocks before squandering much of it on a wild and extravagant lifestyle and going to prison for financial crimes.
In a press release, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams noted that Bicher liked to call himself the “Wolf of Airbnb.”
“But as today’s ruling underscores, those guilty of such callous and fraudulent behavior will be held accountable for their crimes, regardless of the title they have given themselves,” Williams said.