‘Wolf of Airbnb’ Charged in New York Rental, Covid-Relief Fraud

Federal prosecutors in New York charged a Florida man who called himself the “Wolf of Airbnb” with wire fraud and identity theft, alleging he took advantage of a Covid-19-era relief program and defrauded landlords by listing apartments illegally on the home-rental platform.

Konrad Bicher, 31, and those working with him entered into leases with landlords and broke rules forbidding rentals on Airbnb Inc.’s website, prosecutors in New York alleged. Bicher was arrested in June and charged Thursday. Prosecutors say that from 2019 to this year, Bicher signed at least 18 leases and failed to pay more than $1 million in ...