Cash App founder stabbed – latest: Bob Lee argued over Nima Momeni’s sister before murder, court told
Nima Momeni was arrested on Thursday – one week after Cash App owner Bob Lee was discovered in the Rincon Hill area of San Francisco after being fatally stabbed
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Cash app founder Bob Lee was allegedly stabbed following an argument about his suspected killer’s sister, according to court papers.
Nima Momeni, 38, is accused of stabbing the 43-year-old tech executive three times with a four-inch kitchen knife, including twice in the chest, the documents state, according to NBC News.
Prosecutors say that at some point during the incident, Mr Momeni’s sister sent a text to Lee, which stated, “Just wanted to make sure your doing ok Cause know nima came wayyyyyy down hard on you.”
Nima Momeni appeared in court for the first time on Friday after the case sparked a furious debate about public safety in San Francisco.
The suspect was wearing an orange sweatshirt and sweatpants as his sister and another woman held up their hands in the shape of a heart as the suspect smiled at them.
“The facts will come out, what’s basically in the press is inaccurate,” Mr Momeni’s stand-in lawyer told the press.
In a press conference announcing Mr Momeni’s arrest for murder on Thursday, San Francisco officials confirmed that the two men knew each other but declined to provide details.
Lee’s family friend later told The San Francisco Chronicle that the two tech executives are thought to have known each other through Mr Momeni’s sister, who Lee had recently gotten to know.
The two men were hanging out together on the night of the fatal stabbing, the friend said.
A tech CEO has been murdered and Elon Musk blames San Francisco’s ‘horrific’ rise in crime. Is he right?
Bob Lee, the founder of the Cash App, was stabbed to death in San Francisco in an apparently random early morning mugging on Tuesday, according to friends and colleagues.
The well-respected tech executive, who also served previous roles at companies Square and Block, was mourned by members of the tech community in San Francisco and beyond, including Twitter owner Elon Musk, who vented his frustrations about the city’s violent crime.
“Many people I know have been severely assaulted,” Mr Musk tweeted on Wednesday. “Violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately.”
Read more:
Elon Musk blames ‘horrific’ San Francisco for a tech guru’s murder. Is he right?
San Francisco has struggled with street crime and inequality, but it’s safer than many cities in America, research shows. Josh Marcus reports
Statement from Bob Lee’s family
The family of Bob Lee released a statement on Thursday following the arrest of fellow tech executive Nima Momeni for his murder.
Here’s the statement in full:
“Bob was a loving Son, Brother and Father.
“He positively affected millions of people throughout his life. He had an overarching need to make technology accessible, and to help out everyone. Bob’s dream was to make technology free and available.
“From a modest upbringing in the midwest, he started out programing and making web pages for the small business that bordered our parent’s own store. Many people may not know, in the early days of tech one of the first computer viruses, Code Red, shut down the world. A young Bob created the solution unpaid and then gave it to the world for free. That’s who Bob was.
“He spent the rest of his career on that same path. Through his help in creating Android, he made a cheaper and widely used OS. With Square, later block, he was able to solve a major problem for small businesses and help them to democratize cost effective payments. With Cash App, he helped the all people access the digital payments world. What attracted him to MobileCoin was their idea to connect business and payments around the world.
“Bob loved being in San Francisco, and San Francisco loved Bob. Walking down the street would sometimes be difficult because every young person with a dream would search him out, and he would make time for every one.
“After our Mom’s passing 3 years ago, Dad moved in with Bob to share in his life and support. Bob’s new job took him to Miami, Dad came along as well. His love for his Family and San Francisco kept him coming back.
“Personally, Bob felt it was important to not judge based on someones beliefs. This caused so many people to love him from a Burning Man Camp to San Francisco to Miami and across the world. This philosophy afforded him friends from every walk of life. His love of music and art created an amazing group of truly individual and loving people. This community has been extremely supportive in his passing.
“Every day around the world, people interact with technology that Bob helped create. Bob will live on through these interactions and his dreams of improving all of our lives.
“As a family, we’re very thankful to the hard working Detectives at the SFPD for bringing his killer to Justice. Our next steps will be to work with the District Attorney’s office to ensure that this person is not allowed to hurt anyone else or walk free.
“From the Family of Bob Lee”
Nima Momeni to appear in court today
The man charged with Bob Lee’s murder will appear in court for the first time today.
Nima Momeni will appear for his arraignment at 1.30pm PT on Friday afternoon where prosecutors will ask a judge to deny his release on bail.
He is charged with murder and is facing 26 years to life in prison if convicted.
Local news outlet first to report tech exec arrests calls out New York Times
The local news outlet, Mission Local, which was the first to report the arrest of tech executive Nima Momeni called out The New York Times for not crediting the outlet and later thanked them for updating their story to direct readers to their site.
‘I didn’t see any signs of anger, any red flags... at that point'
Akash Sawhney met Mr Momeni when he hired him in 2015 at a start-up.
“I was completely taken aback,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle about the news of Mr Momeni’s arrest. “It didn’t seem in character with what he’s accused of doing, at least in my interactions with him.”
Mr Momeni was “super helpful,” Mr Sawhney said of their time together at the company. “I didn’t see any signs of anger, any red flags, at that point.”
Momeni was part of an ancient monotheistic religion
Mr Sawhney said Mr Momeni was Zoroastrian – part of an ancient monotheistic religion with its roots in Iran. Mr Momeni grew up in Iran before moving with his family to the US.
Some Zoroastrians fled persecution and settled in India, where Mr Sawhney grew up. Mr Momeni had appeared grateful for speaking to someone who was aware of his faith, Mr Sawhney said, according to The Chronicle.
Momeni was ‘warm and welcoming’ during home tour
Sam Singer, a public affairs consultant, recently opened up an office next to Mr Momeni’s residence, he told the paper.
Mr Singer was invited into Mr Momeni’s home, telling the paper that he found Mr Momeni to be “warm and welcoming”. Afterwards, Mr Momeni handed Mr Singer some business cards, offering his services.
Suspect attended University of California and worked as ‘dedicated technology partner'
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr Momeni lives in Emeryville, in the Bay Area, and is the owner of Expand IT.
Expand IT describes itself as a “one-stop technology and security provider” for enterprise software companies.
Mr Momeni said on the profile that he had worked as “dedicated technology partner” supporting clients in healthcare, finance and startups at several tech firms in the Bay Area and San Jose since 2005.
He attended the University of California, Berkeley, and is fluent in English and Farsi, the profile states.
A search of property records showed Mr Momeni owns an apartment at 4053 Harlan St in Emeryville that he purchased for $525,000 in 2020.
Mr Momeni was arrested at the address in Emeryville at around 5am.
Nima Momeni to appear in court today
The man charged with Bob Lee’s murder will appear in court for the first time today.
Nima Momeni will appear for his arraignment at 1.30pm PT on Friday afternoon (4.30pm ET) where prosecutors will ask a judge to deny his release on bail.
He is charged with murder and is facing 26 years to life in prison if convicted.
VIDEO: DA talks Bob Lee stabbing death, safety in San Francisco
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