In a sentencing hearing held in San Francisco’s Hall of Justice on May 2, 2023, 42‑year‑old Nima Momeni was handed a sentence of 16 years to life for the second‑degree murder of Bob Lee, the founder of the mobile payment service Cash App and then chief product officer of cryptocurrency MobileCoin.
Momeni had been in county jail since late April, after his arrest in connection with Lee’s stabbing death. The case, which shocked the U.S. tech community, had drawn attention to concerns about safety in San Francisco’s streets.
During the hearing, family members of both men spoke. Lee’s 14‑year‑old daughter, Scout Lee, described her world as “shattered” after her father’s death, saying, “Mr. Momeni, you didn’t just take my dad that day. You took my best friend.”
Momeni’s mother, Mahnaz Tayarani, pleaded with the judge to consider her son’s life beyond the crime, stating, “I am here because I love my son. A person’s life can hold more than the worst moment of his life. Nima is not perfect. No human being is.”
When asked by the judge, Momeni apologized, saying, “It was never my intention to see anyone hurt or suffer … I’m truly sorry.”
The prosecution’s case centered on a feud that began when Lee allegedly introduced Momeni’s younger sister, Khazar Elyassnia, to a drug dealer who gave her GHB and other drugs and then sexually assaulted her. Momeni claimed he stabbed Lee in retaliation after a confrontation that night, though he later testified that he believed Lee had attacked him first and that he did not intend to kill.
After a week of deliberations, a jury convicted Momeni of second‑degree murder. The sentence marks the conclusion of a case that highlighted tensions between tech leaders and city officials over public safety.
Source: The Guardian World
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