At the onset of the pandemic, Konrad Bicher texted to his fellow fraudsters “Now bro I will become evil.” Although, some would say he was already evil to begin with, considering his ongoing scheme to defraud New York City landlords. But the pandemic did allow him to take greed to an all new level by abusing Government programs and tenant protections intended to benefit people and businesses in need during one of the worst economic and public health crises in history. Pandemic or not, Bicher knew how to work the system.
Beginning in February of 2019, Bicher began renting eighteen apartment units in Manhattan under legal agreements that required monthly rental payments and prohibited third party sublets. Both of which Bicher blatantly disregarded. Bicher failed to make more than $1,000,000 in payments to the property owners all while receiving more than $1,170,000 in rental income. In lieu of living in his newly contracted apartments himself, Bicher posted the units on Airbnb for short term stays and pocked the funds. The property owners made numerous efforts to recover rental payments from Bicher. But Bicher was the master of paperwork for legal protections intended to protect tenants. Then, in March of 2020, the United States Congress passed the CARES Act, which included a moratorium on the evictions of tenants in rental properties. This allowed Bicher to sit back comfortably in his rental scheme and fill out new paperwork for a second scheme. Bicher submitted at least four applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans on behalf of his mini hotel scheme, receiving $565,000 in fraudulent loan proceeds.
Bicher wasn’t shy about his schemes. He bragged to friends and media outlets about his accomplishments in fraud, referring to himself as the “Wolf of Airbnb.” Now he can refer to himself as “Wolf of Fraud.” On July 22, 2024, Bicher was sentenced to four years in prison.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “‘Wolf of Airbnb’ Konrad Bicher sentenced to prison for illegal NYC sublet scheme” published by the New York Post on July 22, 2024.
A flashy Florida man who claimed to be the “Wolf of Airbnb” was sentenced Monday to more than four years in prison after pleading guilty to illegally subletting more than 18 Manhattan apartments — and raking in more than $1 million in rental income while refusing to pay rent.
Konrad Bicher, 32, made more than $1.1 million in rental income on his fleet of illegal “mini hotels” between July 2019 and April 2022, and separately stole more than $565,000 from the US government’s COVID-19 relief program, federal prosecutors said.
