Tech Consultant Guilty Of Murder In Cash App Founder's Stabbing Death

SAN FRANCISCO — A jury in San Francisco found tech consultant Nima Momeni guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee.

Jurors took seven days to deliver their verdict in the April 4, 2023, death of Lee, a beloved tech mogul found staggering on a deserted downtown street, dripping a trail of blood and calling for help. Lee, 43, later died at a hospital.

"We think justice was done here today," the victim's brother, Tim Oliver Lee, told reporters. "What matters today is that we had a guilty verdict and Nima Momeni is going away for a very long time."

Second-degree murder carries a sentence of 16 years to life. Momeni could be sentenced as soon as February, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which reported his lawyers said they were disappointed but planned to appeal the outcome.

Prosecutors said Momeni planned the attack on Lee, driving him to an isolated spot under the Bay Bridge and stabbing him three times with a knife he took from his sister's kitchen. They say Momeni was angry with Lee for introducing his younger sister to a drug dealer she says gave her GHB and other drugs and then sexually assaulted her.

Momeni's sister was friends with Lee, according to NBC News, which reported Lee was stabbed in the heart.

Momeni testified on the stand that Lee was the one who attacked him with a knife, angry after the tech consultant chided him about spending more time with his family instead of searching for a strip club that night. Momeni, who studies martial arts, claimed self-defense and said he didn't realize he had fatally wounded Lee or that Lee was even hurt.

The case made international headlines as an example of decay and danger in San Francisco when the attack was initially thought to be random. The city faced widespread condemnation before Momeni was connected to the crime.

Elon Musk was among those who joined in the discourse, calling for "stronger action to incarcerate repeat violent offenders" on his social media platform, X.

Momeni is not a repeat offender, NBC News reported.

“This is more about human nature and human behavior than it is about our city,” police Chief Bill Scott said when the charges were announced against Momeni, noting most people who commit homicides know their victims. “This is not about San Francisco.”

Momeni was charged with murder in the first degree, but jurors found him guilty of murder in the second degree. The 40-year-old has been in custody since his arrest in April 2023.

Lee had created mobile payment service Cash App and was the chief product officer of the cryptocurrency MobileCoin when he died. He had moved to Miami from the San Francisco Bay Area, where his ex-wife Krista Lee lives with their two children.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.