“Wolf of Airbnb” gets 4 years for rent fraud scheme

The self-proclaimed “Wolf of Airbnb” Konrad Bicher is headed to prison.  

The Pennsylvania native had pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, The Real Deal reported more than a year ago, after he fraudulently collected more than $1 million in rent on illegally subleased New York City apartments. He was sentenced on Monday to more than four years in prison, according to the New York Post.

The 32-year-old wannabe real estate mogul, whose scheme was first exposed in 2022 by TRD, leased 18 Manhattan apartment rentals during the pandemic and used them as “mini hotels” available for short-term rentals on Airbnb. Bicher refused to pay rent to his landlords, who could not evict him because of Covid tenant protections.

Federal prosecutors said that Bicher collected over $1 million in rent on the properties from July 2019 through April 2022. He also stole more than $565,000 from the federal Covid relief program, the Post reported.

Bicher likened himself to the main character of the 2013 film “Wolf of Wall Street,” which chronicled the rise and fall of convicted fraudster Jordan Belfort. He previously told TRD the moniker means “someone who is hungry and ruthless enough to get on top of the financial ladder,” and “show no mercy when provoked.”

Bicher bragged about his lavish lifestyle, posting photos on social media of private jet rides and vacations while he owed Manhattan landlords hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent.

The court ordered Bicher to forfeit more than $1.7 million and pay more than $2.2 million in restitution in addition to the prison sentence. He will be on supervised release for three years after he is released, the Post reported.

This is not Bicher’s first time in trouble. He has two prior convictions, with one involving a 2015 scam impersonating a landlord to get paid for rent he was not entitled to collect, the Post reported.

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Prosecutors presented text messages Bicher sent to one of his partners, discussing how he planned to ramp up the scheme at the height of the pandemic, according to a sentencing submission. One text message said he would  “rape every single landlord in NYC.”

Bicher’s attorney argued for a lighter sentence because Bicher has a 6-month-old daughter and a stay-at-home wife, the publication reported.

— Christina Previte