A “mogul” calling himself “The Wolf of Airbnb” has been sued for $1.5 million for allegedly renting Manhattan apartments for short-term residences and making a fortune without paying hundreds and thousands of dollars in rent.
Conrad Beecher, 30, is accused of using a luxury apartment in the MiMa building at 450 West 42nd Street for short stays on Airbnb, music videos, photo shoots and more.
Properties in the building are selling for between $1.5 million and $6.5 million, with rents ranging from $4,000 to $10,000 a month, according to recent property searches. According to the lawsuit, Beecher rents apartments for up to $97 an hour.
According to The Real Deal, Beecher is also accused in separate lawsuits of owing more than $450,000 in rent – dating back to February 2020 – on apartments he rented in Harlem and Hell’s Kitchen. He was accused of claiming rent difficulties due to the coronavirus and using New York City’s eviction ban to avoid paying.
He denies doing illegal short-term rentals but calls himself the “Airbnb Wolf” on his Instagram page, where he has dozens of photos of him on luxury vacations and on private jets.
In a post to The Real Deal, he referred to himself with a dubious moniker, saying, “Airbnb Wolf: This means someone who is hungry and ruthless enough to climb to the top of the financial ladder. They compare ferocity to wolves because wolves are territorial, vicious and show no mercy when provoked.”
Beecher has since appeared to have deactivated his social media accounts.
Conrad Beecher, 30, (pictured) is accused of using a luxury apartment in the MiMa building at 450 West 42nd Street for short stays on Airbnb, music videos and photo shoots.
Properties in the MiMa building (pictured) are selling for between $1.5 million and $6.5 million, with rents ranging from $4,000 to $10,000 a month, according to recent property searches.
Beecher (pictured) has faced several lawsuits in the past, at least two of which were dismissed after the landlords involved failed to track him down to serve him with court papers, reports the Real Deal.
New York law states that renting out an entire apartment for less than 30 days without the owner or permanent tenant present is illegal. As of 2016, it is also illegal to advertise illegal short-term rentals.
But, according to the Supreme Court, “Beecher’s modus operandi is to negotiate residential leases in Manhattan or, in this case, break into their home and conduct a sort of ‘buyout’ operation.”
The lawsuit, filed on Monday, added: “This includes renting an apartment as a profit center through Airbnb, Peerspace and other similar platforms for short-term rentals, non-payment of rent, using the pandemic and related laws to delay any proceedings. , and release at the time of eviction.
Beecher has faced several lawsuits in the past, at least two of which were dismissed after the landlords involved failed to track him down to serve him with court papers, according to the Real Deal.
The latest lawsuit, filed by 42nd and 10th Associates LLC, alleges that a woman named Hayley Frey signed a lease on Block 43B effective May 19, 2019, and added Beecher as a tenant in August.
It was then, according to the documents, that the couple began an illegal short-term rental of the house, and Frey was accused of not visiting the building since the move in July 2019, according to the New York Post.
Alarm bells sounded in November 2019, when doormen began to notice guests often arriving with suitcases and photographic equipment.
The lawsuit alleges that the strange comings and goings continued for another two years.
The documents claim that on May 2, 2020, one guest admitted to doormen that he was staying at the hotel through an Airbnb booking.
Less than two weeks later, a person heading to the apartment claimed it was Frey, despite the fact that she didn’t look like her picture on file at all, the lawsuit says.
According to the Supreme Court filing, “Beecher’s modus operandi is to enter into tenancy agreements for residential apartments in Manhattan or, in this case, break into their residence and conduct some sort of ‘buyout’ operation.” (Pictured: Beecher leaving the Ferrari in a photo he shared on social media)
Beecher (pictured) is also being charged in separate lawsuits with over $450,000 in rent arrears since February 2020.
New York’s crackdown on Airbnb began in 2011 with fines of up to $7,500 for those who break the rules.
Short-term rentals without the presence of the owner or permanent tenant have been banned in New York City since 2011, when state legislators made it illegal to rent a full apartment for less than 30 days.
However, this did little to curb the use of sites like Airbnb and Vrbo, which is why the state banned advertising for illegal short-term rentals in 2016.
However, enforcement continued to be complex and mostly concerned landlords, although illegal short-term rentals are also commonly organized by tenants.
The City Hall’s Office of Special Enforcement pursued property managers and owners suspected of operating illegal hotels.
The Department of Buildings can impose a fine of up to $7,500 for each violation.
In 2020, Airbnb reached an agreement with the city in which the company agreed to share listing information with host names, phone numbers, addresses, and other details about the places they rent.
Later that year, Airbnb debuted as a public company. The latest earnings report showed third-quarter net income of $834 million, up 280 percent from last year.
Source: The Real Deal
But the man went to the elevator and said: “Conrad said everything was fine,” the lawsuit says.
In another alleged incident on September 3, 2020, someone asked for a key to an apartment, followed by an entourage of 16 people with photographic equipment.
When two more people visited later that month, the landlord searched online real estate portals and found that the apartment was listed on Peerspace.
Presumably, the house was rented at a rate of $ 97 per hour, but not less than three hours.
According to the lawsuit, the object had 15 reviews, including one from the person who used it to film the movie.
“A constantly changing line-up of strangers with luggage entered and exited the apartment for short stays,” the statement said.
“Defendants left notices to building staff that these short transients were their ‘guests’ and left cloned copies of the key fobs.”
When the building warned Frey that only tenants could negotiate to leave keys to guests, she allegedly stated in an email dated August 5, 2021 that Beecher was her husband.
Frey was sent a cease and desist letter, to which she allegedly replied on March 4 of this year: “Can we agree on a settlement [sic] agreeing to pay me to leave? Otherwise, I will keep a part for myself for many years and will sue.
The landlords are seeking $1.5 million in damages from Frey and Beecher, as well as at least $10,000 in legal fees.
On previous similar occasions, Beecher allegedly claimed he couldn’t afford the rent when he faced eviction proceedings, forcing him to put everything on hold while he was allegedly given $141,875 in pandemic funds, the lawsuit says.
It was unclear if Beecher had a lawyer for the latest case, and Beecher’s work phone number could not be found.