Cash App founder's killer gets 16 years to life in prison

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Two years after his conviction for second-degree murder, Nima Momeni, the tech consultant found guilty of killing Cash App founder Bob Lee, has been sentenced. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Alexandra Gordon handed him to 16 years to life in prison.

Lee was instrumental in the development of Cash App while serving as chief technology officer at Square. He was also an engineer at Google from 2004 to 2010 and was involved in the development of Android. Lee was later the chief product officer at crypto payments company MobileCoin and helped the World Health Organization launch its mobile app during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Murder and misinformation

MobileCoin

In April 2023, Lee was found bleeding in a doorway on an empty downtown San Francisco street after being stabbed in the hip and heart. He managed to call 911 but died after being taken to a hospital.

Following the killing but before an arrest was made, some of Big Tech's loudest voices were quick to frame it in terms that supported their biases. "Many people I know have been severely assaulted" in San Francisco, Elon Musk tweeted, suggesting that "even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately." Investor Jason Calacanis chimed in, calling those running the city "incompetent lunatics," while claiming the city was devolving into "utter chaos." (San Fransisco has a comparatively low crime rate, and has seen its homicide rate fall over the last four years.)

As it happened, this had nothing to do with governmental incompetence or random acts of violence. Lee was involved with Momeni's sister and had been partying with the two on the night of the murder. Prosecutors said Momeni killed Lee after learning that the Cash App founder had introduced his sister to drug dealers who abused her. Momeni's team claimed he acted in self-defense after Lee lunged at him with a knife. Lee was found to have cocaine, ketamine and alcohol in his system.

The judge rejected Momeni's request for a new trial. His lawyers say they plan to appeal.