Suspect Charged With Murder Of Cash App Creator Bob Lee Was Someone The Techpreneur Knew

By Holly Matkin and Sandy Malone

San Francisco, CA – San Francisco police arrested tech worker Nima Momeni on Thursday in connection with the murder of Cash App creator and former Square Chief Technology Officer Bob Lee, who was stabbed to death outside his luxury high-rise apartment building last week.

Momeni, 38, was apprehended in the Emeryville community in East Bay on April 13, The Week reported.

He was booked on suspicion of murder at 9:19 a.m., according to CNBC.

Investigators said the tech consultant and 43-year-old Lee were acquaintances, but did not elaborate on how they knew one another.

They also did not release a motive for the murder, The Week reported.

Police said they believe Lee and his killer were riding together in a vehicle registered to Momeni on April 4 when a confrontation occurred inside the car and then spilled out onto the street, according to the news outlet.

The incident occurred in the 300-block of Main Street shortly after 2:30 a.m., KRON reported.

Security footage showed Lee appearing to have a verbal altercation of some sort and running into the middle of the street in front of a car, attempting to get help, according to KNTV.

But the driver didn’t stop and the video showed Lee’s attacker chased him around the vehicle, took the tech giant to the ground, and began viciously stabbing him over and over again.

Only when Lee was down in the middle road and had stopped moving did his attacker stop and stroll away from the scene as if nothing had happened, the surveillance video showed.

A second video filmed from inside the lobby of Lee’s high rise showed that he was able to get up and walk back to the doors of his building before he collapsed to the ground.

Lee was rushed to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds.

Colleagues said Lee was in San Francisco visiting friends after a recent MobileCoin leadership summit, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur was an executive at MobileCoin and also helped develop Android, KRON reported.

Lee was a consultant for multiple companies and worked as a web developer for Southeast Missouri State University prior to moving to San Francisco to work at Google in 2004, according to the news outlet.

Ten years later, he became the chief technology officer at Square, where he played a role in launching MobileCoin and Cash App.

Lee was also an angel investor in a slew of companies, including Found, Netswitch, SiPhox, Gowalla, Ticket Fairy, Nana, Addressable, Orchid, Faire, Figma, Tile, Clubhouse, and SpaceX, KRON reported.

Momeni’s neighbors said he has operated his business, Expand IT, out of his Emeryville apartment since at least 2021, the Los Angeles Times reported.

According to his LinkedIn account, Momeni founded the company in 2010 and partnered with clients in finance, healthcare, and other markets, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“He was very welcoming, kind and charming,” neighbor Sam Singer told the paper. “You’d never have any idea that he would be accused of such a heinous crime.”

Coast Range Technologies Owner Russell Haynes said Momeni worked for his company as an IT consultant in 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Haynes described him as a respectful, quiet employee who often went out to Bay Area businesses to troubleshoot IT problems, according to the news outlet.

Haynes said he was stunned to learn Momeni had been arrested on suspicion of murder.

“That’s not the Nima of my day,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “He was a young man, eager to learn IT. He wanted to run his own business.”

Momeni was charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence back in 2004, but that charge was ultimately dismissed.

He was charged in Alameda County in 2011 with selling a switchblade knife and driving with a suspended license, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Momeni pleaded no contest to the suspended license charge and the weapon offense was ultimately dismissed.

He was sentenced to 10 days in jail, followed by three years of probation, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Momeni is due to appear in court on Friday on the suspicion of murder charge.