The Cash App founder Bob Lee was murdered in San Francisco in the early morning of April 4, 2023, stabbed three times with a kitchen paring knife near the Bay Bridge. He was 43. A tech consultant named Nima Momeni, whom Lee had met only days earlier through Momeni’s sister, was arrested nine days later and convicted of second-degree murder in December 2024. Momeni faces 16 years to life in prison but, as of mid-2026, has not been sentenced while his new legal team pursues a motion for a new trial.
How Bob Lee Was Killed
Lee called 911 around 2:30 a.m. on April 4, 2023, from the Rincon Hill neighborhood. He asked repeatedly for help before collapsing in front of the Portside apartment building. One of his three stab wounds punctured his heart. Investigators traced a blood trail from the apartment building to a fence about half a block away, where they recovered a three-and-a-half-inch “Joseph Joseph” brand paring knife.1NBC News. Cash App Founder Bob Lee Stabbing, Nima Momeni Murder Conviction Lee was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Police quickly ruled out a random attack. Investigators established that Lee and his attacker knew each other and had been together in a car registered to the suspect shortly before the stabbing.2Mission Local. Bob Lee Killing: Arrest Made in San Francisco
Lee, who created Cash App while serving as chief technology officer at Square, had recently relocated from the Bay Area to Miami and was in San Francisco visiting. At the time of his death he was chief product officer at the cryptocurrency company MobileCoin.3NBC Miami. Tech Consultant Found Guilty in Stabbing Death of Cash App Founder Bob Lee An autopsy found alcohol, cocaine, and ketamine in his system.
Who Nima Momeni Is
Nima Momeni, a 40-year-old tech consultant at the time of his arrest on April 13, 2023, had grown up in Tehran, where he began pre-military training, and was trained in Krav Maga and Muay Thai.4Mission Local. Bob Lee Murder Trial: Alleged Killer Nima Momeni Says Bad Joke Led to Stabbing He and Lee had met only days before the killing through Momeni’s sister, Khazar Momeni, a friend of Lee’s.5The San Francisco Standard. Nima Momeni Seeks Retrial in Bob Lee Killing
The Motive Prosecutors Argued
The prosecution’s case centered on the night before the killing. Prosecutors said Lee had introduced Khazar to a drug dealer named Jeremy Boivin. On April 3, 2023, Khazar went to Boivin’s apartment, where she later testified the group used cocaine, nitrous oxide, and other substances. Khazar testified that Boivin gave her GHB, a date-rape drug, and that she lost consciousness and was sexually assaulted.6ABC7 News. Bob Lee Murder Trial: Khazar Momeni, Heavy Drug Use, Alleged Sex Assault Boivin’s attorney, Valerie Nechay, denied the allegations, called Khazar’s account “completely false and riddled with blatant lies,” and said the sexual relationship was “voluntary and consensual.”7The San Francisco Standard. Khazar Momeni, Nima, Bob Lee Drug Dealer No criminal charges against Boivin have been reported.
According to prosecutors, after Khazar told her brother about the incident, Nima Momeni blamed Lee for exposing his sister to the drug dealer. Later that night, they said, Momeni took a knife from Khazar’s kitchen at her Millennium Tower apartment, drove Lee to an isolated stretch under the Bay Bridge, and stabbed him three times.8The Guardian. Nima Momeni Bob Lee Murder Verdict Surveillance video from the Millennium Tower showed the two men leaving the building together around 2 a.m.9ABC7 News. Bob Lee Killing: Nima Momeni Murder Trial Enters Day 2 of Testimony Prosecutors Omid Talai and Dane Reinstedt argued Momeni brought the knife with premeditated intent to confront Lee.10KTVU. Nima Momeni Had Clear Motive, Brought Knife to Kill Bob Lee, DA Tells Jury
Physical evidence tied Momeni to the weapon. The paring knife carried Bob Lee’s DNA on the blade and Momeni’s DNA on the handle, a 99 percent match.11KQED. SF Jury Convicts Nima Momeni of Second-Degree Murder in Killing of Tech Founder Bob Lee
What Momeni Said Happened
Momeni took the stand and told a different story. He testified that a “bad joke” he made about Lee’s lifestyle, telling Lee he should spend his last night in town with his family instead of seeking out strip clubs, provoked Lee to pull the knife in a drug-fueled outburst. Momeni said he grabbed the blade and turned it on Lee in self-defense.4Mission Local. Bob Lee Murder Trial: Alleged Killer Nima Momeni Says Bad Joke Led to Stabbing His trial attorney Tony Brass built the defense around that claim.
Khazar Momeni testified that she never had a sexual relationship with Lee but said he was “sometimes inappropriate” with her. She told the jury she had informed her brother about the alleged assault by Boivin, but she also described Nima as “calm and cool” afterward and said the two men had been “cordial” when they met.12Courthouse News Service. Khazar Momeni Testifies Bob Lee Was Not Sober in Days Preceding His Killing
The Verdict
On December 17, 2024, after seven days of deliberation, a jury of six men and six women found Momeni guilty of second-degree murder with the use of a dangerous weapon. He was acquitted of first-degree murder.13NBC Bay Area. Verdict in Nima Momeni Trial The conviction carries a sentence of 16 years to life.
Why Momeni Has Not Been Sentenced
More than a year after the verdict, Momeni still has no sentencing date. After the trial he fired his attorneys and, in June 2025, retained new counsel: Daniel Shriro and Boris Bindman.14The San Francisco Standard. Nima Momeni Cash App Bob Lee SF Standard Lawsuit The new team said it plans to file a motion for a new trial but cannot proceed without complete trial transcripts, and one of the two court reporters from the trial went on leave, causing months of delay.15ABC7 News. Bob Lee Stabbing: Nima Momeni Not Sentenced in Killing of CashApp Founder Shriro said Momeni “is looking forward to bringing to light the ways in which he was denied a fair trial.”16Courthouse News Service. CashApp CEO Murder Case Inches Forward More Than a Year After Conviction
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Alexandra Gordon set July 10, 2026, as the date for a hearing on all new post-trial motions and warned the parties against requesting continuances.16Courthouse News Service. CashApp CEO Murder Case Inches Forward More Than a Year After Conviction Momeni remains in custody at the San Francisco County jail.14The San Francisco Standard. Nima Momeni Cash App Bob Lee SF Standard Lawsuit
The Civil Lawsuits
On March 28, 2025, Lee’s estate, his two children, and his ex-wife Krista Lee filed a wrongful death lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court. The suit names Nima Momeni along with several of his family members: his sister Khazar Momeni, his brother-in-law Dr. Dino Elyassnia, and his mother Mahnaz Tayarani. The complaint alleges the family helped cover up the murder by hiding Momeni’s white BMW, buying new phones, and attempting to delete digital evidence.17CBS News. Bob Lee’s Family Files Civil Suit Against Convicted Killer Nima Momeni None of those family members have been criminally charged.18Yahoo News. Khazar and Nima Momeni Facing Civil Suit The suit also names the Portside apartment building’s owner, its homeowners’ associations, and a security company, alleging they released surveillance footage of Lee’s final moments to the media without the family’s permission.19Mission Local. Family of Cash App Founder Bob Lee Sues Momeni Family
In December 2025, Momeni filed his own $17 million lawsuit from jail, representing himself, against several media organizations: the San Francisco Standard, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Post’s publisher NYP Holdings, and photojournalist Paul Kuroda. He alleges defamation, invasion of privacy, civil rights violations, and other claims, and specifically objects to photographs of him in his jail cell that he considers inflammatory.20KRON4. Bob Lee’s Killer Sues Newspapers for Emotional Distress
The San Francisco Crime Debate
In the days after the stabbing, before anyone knew Lee and his killer were acquaintances, prominent tech figures used the death as evidence of urban lawlessness. Elon Musk posted that “violent crime in SF is horrific,” and venture investor Matt Ocko blamed local progressive officials.21Los Angeles Times. The Bob Lee Killing Shows How Crime Reporting Gets Everything Wrong Jack Dorsey, the Square co-founder to whom Lee sent Cash App’s first-ever payment of four dollars in 2013, called Lee’s death “heartbreaking” and said he had been “instrumental to Square and Cash App.”22Business Insider. Bob Lee Death: Tech Industry Reactions, Career, San Francisco Crime
Momeni’s arrest, and the revelation that he was himself a tech worker who knew Lee, undercut the random-violence narrative. State Senator Scott Wiener and San Francisco Police Commissioner Kevin Benedicto pointed to data showing violent crime in San Francisco had peaked in 2013 and declined roughly 32 percent by 2020.21Los Angeles Times. The Bob Lee Killing Shows How Crime Reporting Gets Everything Wrong San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, whose office prosecuted the case, said the city “does not tolerate these horrific acts of violence.”22Business Insider. Bob Lee Death: Tech Industry Reactions, Career, San Francisco Crime