Nima Momeni guilty of murder in killing of Cash App founder Bob Lee
Nima Momeni has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee, a verdict reached by a San Francisco jury after seven days of deliberations.
The verdict of second-degree murder carries a 15 years to life sentence and includes an enhancement for using a knife in the crime. Momeni was found not guilty of the more serious charge of pre-meditated first-degree murder.
Prosecutors Dane Reinstedt and Omid Talai were present in the courtroom for the verdict, as was Sgt. Brent Dittmer – who testified in the trial – and a handful of members of the District Attorney's office. The Lee family including his ex-wife Krista and brother were also there with other family members, friends and supporters.
Defense attorneys Tony Brass and Zoe Aron were also present along with Momeni's mother Mahnaz Momeni. The defendant's sister Khazar Momeni was not in attendance when the verdict was read in court Tuesday morning.
The judge issued a stern warning in the courtroom for those present not to have any audible reaction to the verdict as it was read. Momeni was seen dabbing his eyes as he listened to the verdict.
A preliminary hearing to set the sentencing date for Momeni has been scheduled for Jan. 10, 2025.
Bob Lee family speaks
Outside the courtroom, Lee's brother Timothy Oliver Lee said the family was satisfied with the verdict.
"We're happy with the result today. We're happy that Nima Momeni won't be on the streets, no longer has the opportunity to harm anyone else in this world," he said. "The verdict of murder two will put him away for a long time."
He also noted that besides Momeni being found guilty of the murder, the proceedings showed that his family was complicit in the crime by trying to help him cover it up and had "blood on their hands." He said the Momeni family had several dozen friends and supporters in the courtroom when the verdict was read.
"We're extremely thankful to the District Attorney's Office, we're extremely thankful for the juries. I think justice was done here today," he added.
San Francisco DA Jenkins defends city
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins was on hand for the verdict and thanked the attorneys who prosecuted the case outside the courtroom after the guilty verdict was read.
"I knew was confident that we had the best two handling this case," Jenkins said. "And I think the verdict was a testament to the hard work they put in, to the great lawyers that they are, and to their commitment to justice and to making sure that this family received justice."
She also pushed back on what Elon Musk and others said after the stabbing happened when critics claimed San Francisco is lawless and out of control as part of the popular "doom loop" narrative commonly aired on social media.
"I think that hopefully now, we have once again established what truly happened here. We all know that after Bob Lee was murdered, Elon Musk took to Twitter to make an effort to really shame San Francisco, and to make it seem like this was about lawlessness in San Francisco and about what's going on in our streets," Jenkins said.
She noted that law enforcement early felt the fatal stabbing of Lee was not a random crime.
"And we knew it was something different. And I think today proved once again, that we are a city committed to accountability, we are a city committed to public safety," she added. "And that when something bad happens, which we can't always control, that law enforcement at every level will respond to make sure that there is justice and accountability in each and every situation."
Jenkins said her office would prepare for an appeal to be filed by Momeni's defense team.
Fatal stabbing of Cash App founder
Momeni was accused of fatally stabbing tech executive Lee in a secluded part of San Francisco's East Cut neighborhood under the Bay Bridge in April 2023.
Court officials announced late Monday afternoon that the jury had reached a verdict shortly before 4 p.m.
Prosecutors accused Momeni of stabbing Lee with a kitchen paring knife following a heated discussion regarding his sister's relationship with Lee as well as their ongoing drug use. During the trial, Momeni's lawyers claimed that their client acted in self-defense, alleging that Lee lunged at Momeni with a knife in his hand while high on ketamine and cocaine. The defense said Lee became erratic and aggressive after Momeni made a "bad joke" at the expense of Lee's family.
Intense trial
The six-week trial was punctuated by dramatic testimony, including an appearance on the stand of Momeni's sister, Khazar Momeni. She testified as a witness for the prosecution and insisted during her first day of testimony that her brother didn't kill Lee. She also detailed consuming several drugs with Lee and others in the days leading up to the fatal stabbing.
During cross-examination by defense attorneys, Khazar Momeni described Lee as "all over the place" and "aggressive" while high on drugs. Her testimony was criticized outside the courtroom by Lee's ex-wife Krista Lee, who accused her of trying to "make herself a victim."
The testimony turned contentious when Nima Momeni took the stand, as the defendant sparred with the prosecution during cross-examination after earlier describing how Lee allegedly attacked him while his defense team questioned him about the confrontation.
Challenging Nima Momeni's story
San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Omid Talai challenged Momeni's version of the story and focused on his actions immediately after Lee's death, including his calls to attorneys and text messages with his sister.
The case wrapped up in the first week of December with prosecutors trying to tear down Momeni's defense in their closing arguments and asking why he didn't call police or tell anyone about Lee allegedly attacking him.
The defense showed a bombshell video during their closing arguments, presenting surveillance footage they claimed showed Lee doing cocaine on the street outside a private club with the same knife used to kill him hours later. Defense attorney Saam Zangeneh used a cardboard cutout of the knife in court so the jury could see the size of the paring knife he said the video proved Lee had in his possession all along.
That video sparked a tense exchange between Zangeneh and Lee's former wife, who let out a loud, mocking laugh as he showed the footage.
Zangeneh turned to directly address her, saying it wasn't funny. Prosecutors quickly objected and the judge intervened to restore order in the courtroom.
The jury began deliberations on the morning of Dec. 4.
Who is Nima Momeni?
Nima Momeni, 40, was described as a "tech entrepreneur" when he was arrested for the murder of Bob Lee back in April of 2023. Momeni was taken into custody at his home in Emeryville on April 11, days after the deadly stabbing.
According to his Linkedin page, Momeni is the owner of Expand IT. His profile describes the company as providing IT solutions in the Bay Area since 2010.
Neighbors who lived near Momeni were shocked to hear of his arrest. After Momeni was taken into custody, Bay Area public relations veteran Sam Singer who worked next door to him said he had never had any issues with the defendant beyond hearing music being played a bit too loudly.
"Warm, welcoming, very nice fellow, like any other tech consultant here in the Bay Area, lives in a live-work space," Singer said. "He handed us a stack of cards and said, 'If you ever need anything let me know.'"
It later emerged that Khazar Momeni had introduced Lee to her brother, thinking that the successful Cash App founder might work with him on one of Nima's projects.
Who was Bob Lee?
A successful Bay Area technology executive, Bob Lee was best known as one of the creators and founders of the digital wallet Cash App. Lee had also worked at Google as a staff software engineer in the 2000s, helping to develop the mobile operating system used by Android cell phones.
In 2010, he was recruited by the San Francisco e-commerce company Square, Inc., where he became chief technology officer before eventually moving on to Cash App. At the time of his death, Lee was working as the chief product officer of the cryptocurrency MobileCoin.
Lee was living in Mill Valley with his family including his now ex-wife Krista and two children, but the couple separated in 2019. Lee had subsequently moved to Miami in 2022 to live with his father and was visiting San Francisco on business when he was fatally stabbed.
The Wall Street Journal reported Lee and Khazar Momeni belonged to a sex and drugs-fueled underground party scene known in wealthy Bay Area tech circles as "The Lifestyle." The medical examiner's report revealed the tech executive died on the operating table and was found to have alcohol, cocaine and ketamine in his system.
