Thats absurd. Civil tort never results in jail time unless someone commits a criminal offense during the proceedings such as perjury or contempt.

At most AirBNB would have to prove damages, which would be difficult since they profit off dishonesty, or have proceedings that result in consequences for the hosts.

For example I’ve had multiple hosts that lie about the address of their tenancy because they’re renting and not allowed to sublet or short term rent the property as a term of their lease.

Verifying the listings, including deeds/leases would fix this.

Sure some inaccuracies are just inaccuracies - maybe penalise them. But stories like by Vice is just plain fraud, which to me seems very criminal. But I'm far from lawyer and US.