Tech consultant is convicted of second-degree murder in killing of Cash App founder Bob Lee
Gabrielle Lurie/San Francisco Chronicle via AP and Courtesy of MobileCoin
- Nima Momeni was found guilty of second-degree murder in Cash App founder Bob Lee's stabbing death.
- Momeni killed Lee after a dispute about Momeni's sister, prosecutors argued.
- Momeni, who was acquitted of first-degree murder, faces 16 years to life in prison, the DA said.
A San Francisco jury found Nima Momeni guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 43-year-old Bob Lee, the creator of Cash App.
Momeni, a 40-year-old tech consultant, was accused of killing Lee in the early morning hours of April 4, 2023. Police had discovered Lee bleeding heavily from multiple stab wounds on an empty street in downtown San Francisco after he had called 911 for help. Lee later died of his injuries.
Prosecutors successfully argued to the jury that Momeni stabbed Lee three times with a knife he took from his sister's kitchen set.
Prosecutors said Momeni planned the killing after learning Lee introduced his sister to a drug dealer who drugged and sexually assaulted her, Fox News reported.
Momeni had confronted the Cash App founder about his sister, who had been drinking with Lee and a group of friends. Momeni asked Lee if she "was doing drugs or anything inappropriate," according to court documents. Prosecutors said a witness saw Lee reassuring Momeni that his sister had not taken any substances and that "nothing inappropriate had happened."
Later, Momeni lured Lee to a secluded area where prosecutors said he stabbed Lee before fleeing.
Momeni testified in court that he had been acting in self-defense. Momeni said he and Lee were driving together but pulled over because Momeni thought Lee was going to vomit, NBC News reported. Momeni said Lee then attacked him after he had joked that Lee cared more about strip clubs than his family, the outlet reported. Momeni told the court Lee pulled out the knife, and the pair struggled over it before Momeni walked away not realizing Lee had been stabbed.
But Assistant District Attorney Omid Talai argued that Lee was "stabbed through his heart and left to die," NBC News reported.
"In a world where the powerful and well-connected sometimes act as though they are immune to consequences, it is heartening to see a jury of ordinary San Franciscans demonstrate that if you break the law, you will be held accountable," Talai and Assistant District Attorney Dane Reinstedt said in a press release.
Momeni, whose attorneys didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from BI, was acquitted of first-degree murder charges. He faces 16 years to life in prison, the district attorney's office said.