A San Francisco jury on Tuesday found tech consultant Nima Momeni guilty of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee.
The verdict came after seven days of deliberation following the April 4, 2023, killing. Lee was discovered staggering down a deserted downtown San Francisco street, leaving a trail of blood and calling for help before dying at a hospital.
Prosecutors argued that Momeni planned the attack, driving Lee to a secluded area under the Bay Bridge, where he stabbed him three times with a knife taken from his sister's kitchen. They claimed Momeni was enraged at Lee for introducing his younger sister to a drug dealer, who allegedly gave her GHB and other drugs before sexually assaulting her.
However, Momeni testified that Lee had attacked him with the knife, claiming the confrontation escalated after Momeni criticized Lee for not prioritizing his family and instead looking for a strip club that night. Momeni, who practices martial arts, said he acted in self-defense and was unaware he had fatally wounded Lee or that Lee was even injured.
The case, which began on October 14, was handed to jurors on December 4.
While Momeni was initially charged with first-degree murder, jurors ultimately found him guilty of second-degree murder, though they could have considered a lesser charge of manslaughter.
A second-degree murder conviction in this case carries a sentence of 16 years to life in prison.
Momeni, 40, has remained in custody since his arrest in April 2023.
In a press release from the same year, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins' office stated that Momeni faced up to 26 years to life if convicted.
Bob Lee, 43, was the creator of the mobile payment service Cash App and served as chief product officer for the cryptocurrency company MobileCoin at the time of his death. Lee had relocated to Miami from the San Francisco Bay Area, where his ex-wife, Krista Lee, resides with their two children.
