Nima Momeni gets 16 years to life for murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee in San Francisco

Nima Momeni, the man convicted in the 2023 killing of Cash App founder Bob Lee in San Francisco, was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison on Tuesday.

Momeni was convicted of second-degree murder in December 2024 for fatally stabbing Lee in the city's East Cut neighborhood under the Bay Bridge in April 2023, a killing that fueled a "doom loop" narrative about San Francisco street crime following the COVID pandemic. 

Prosecutors said Momeni stabbed Lee following an argument about Momeni's sister and her relationship with Lee, along with their ongoing drug use. 

Momeni was found not guilty of premeditated first-degree murder. During the trial, his lawyers claimed he acted in self-defense, alleging that Lee had lunged at Momeni with a knife while under the influence of drugs and that Lee became aggressive after Momeni made a "bad joke" at the expense of Lee's family.

Aside from creating the Cash App digital wallet, Lee was a former chief technology officer for e-commerce company Square, Inc. and was chief product officer of the cryptocurrency MobileCoin at the time of his death.

His killing amplified a narrative of San Francisco spiraling into lawlessness, with high-profile figures such as Elon Musk driving the perception on social media. City officials aggressively pushed back against the sensationalist nature of the narrative, especially after it was quickly determined the stabbing was not a random street crime but rather stemmed from a personal dispute.

The sentencing was delayed extensively following a series of post-trial maneuvers from Momeni's defense team that included motions for a new trial and a new group of defense attorneys. The judge ultimately dismissed the challenges and requests for a retrial.