Nima Momeni receives 16 years to life for murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee
The sentencing followed a second-degree murder conviction in a case that prompted debate over San Francisco street safety before a dispute between the men emerged.
By Hassan Ellis ·
Nima Momeni has been sentenced to 16 years to life in prison for murdering Cash App founder Bob Lee. The 42-year-old has been held in San Francisco’s county jail since late April 2023, following his arrest over the fatal stabbing. Lee, who created the mobile payment service, was chief product officer at cryptocurrency company MobileCoin when he died.
Relatives of both men addressed the judge at the sentencing hearing, as did Momeni, according to SFGate. Lee’s daughter, Scout Lee, was 14 at the time of her father’s death. She described how deeply the killing had affected her life, telling Momeni: “You took my best friend.”
Momeni’s mother, Mahnaz Tayarani, asked the judge to consider her son’s whole life when deciding his punishment, rather than judging him solely by the crime. She spoke of her love for him and acknowledged his imperfections. Wearing an orange jail uniform, Momeni also addressed the court, saying he had never intended for anyone to be hurt or suffer and expressing an apology.
The sentencing brought to a close a case that drew intense attention among leading figures in the US technology industry. Before police arrested Momeni, Elon Musk and other prominent tech figures blamed Lee’s death on city leaders, portraying it as a consequence of lawlessness and random violence. Those reactions renewed a longstanding argument about street safety in San Francisco, but a dispute between Lee and Momeni subsequently came to light.
Prosecutors argued that Momeni was angry because Lee had introduced his younger sister, Khazar Elyassnia, to a drug dealer. Elyassnia said the dealer gave her GHB and other drugs and sexually assaulted her. According to the prosecution’s account, Momeni drove Lee to a secluded location beneath the Bay Bridge on April 4, 2023, stabbed him with a knife from his sister’s kitchen and left him to die.
Momeni was arrested and charged with first-degree murder nearly three weeks after the killing. At trial, the tech consultant offered a different account, testifying that Lee had attacked him with a knife. He said Lee became angry after Momeni rebuked him for looking for a strip club that night instead of spending more time with his family.
Momeni, who studies martial arts, maintained that he acted in self-defense. He testified that he did not know he had fatally wounded Lee and had not realized Lee was injured at all. Jurors deliberated for a week before finding Momeni guilty of second-degree murder.
