Tech consultant found guilty of murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee

A jury in San Francisco has convicted a technology entrepreneur of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Bob Lee, the founder of mobile payment service Cash App.

40-year-old Nima Momeni faces 15 years to life in prison for the killing.

Mr. Lee, 43, was killed in the early hours of April 4, 2023.

Police found him unconscious in the Rincon Hill neighborhood with two stab wounds to the chest. He later died in hospital.

Momeni was found not guilty of the more serious charge of first-degree murder, which indicates premeditated killing.

The jury deliberated for seven days before announcing they had reached a verdict.

After the sentencing, Mr Lee’s brother Oliver Lee said his family was “pleased with the outcome”.

“We are glad that Nima Momeni will no longer be on the streets and will no longer have the opportunity to harm anyone in this world,” he said.

The six-week trial included dramatic testimony and details of Mr Lee’s drug-addled last night.

According to prosecutors, Momeni stabbed Mr. Lee with a kitchen knife because he was upset that he had introduced his sister Khazar Momeni to a man who had given her GHB, a so-called date rape drug.

Like the prosecution, Nima Momeni’s defense team said he was partying with his sister and Mr Lee on the night of his murder. But they said Momeni acted in self-defense.

Momeni said Mr. Lee came at him with a knife, according to CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. affiliate, in what Momeni described as a “bad joke” at the expense of Mr. Lee’s family.

Prosecutors rejected that allegation and questioned why Momeni did not report the incident to police or tell anyone that Mr. Lee had allegedly attacked him.

Autopsy reports revealed that Mr. Lee was under the influence of alcohol, ketamine and cocaine at the time of his death. Defense attorneys argued that a pattern of drug use made Mr. Lee aggressive.

“We are victims of drug abuse,” Momeni’s mother Mahnaz Tayarani told reporters outside the courtroom on Tuesday. “I know my son… This is not a fair trial.”

Ms Tayarani said her son would appeal the conviction.

The incident had stoked fears about crime and safety in the Bay Area. Tech billionaire and Donald Trump ally Elon Musk said at the time that “violent crime in San Francisco is terrible.”

While praising the conviction on Tuesday, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins took direct aim at Mr. Musk, saying he had tried to shame the city and make the case “seem like lawlessness in San Francisco.”

“We knew it was something different,” she said.

The sentencing date will be set at a hearing on January 10th.