Man arrested in stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee

SAN FRANCISCO — Police arrested a man who knew Cash App founder Bob Lee and charged him with murder after Lee was stabbed to death last week in San Francisco’s Rincon Hill neighborhood.

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Police found Lee injured early on April 4. He later died at a hospital.

On Thursday, authorities confirmed they arrested 38-year-old Nima Momeni on a murder charge in Lee’s death.

Update 3:50 p.m. EDT April 13: At a news conference Thursday, Chief William Scott confirmed that authorities arrested Nima Momeni, 38, earlier in the day in Emeryville.

“We can confirm that Mr. Lee and Mr. Momeni knew each other. However, we will not be able to provide further details at this time regarding the evidence that confirmed that information,” the chief said.

He added that several search warrants related to the case have been executed in San Francisco and Emeryville.

“This is still an open and ongoing investigation,” he said.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said Momeni will face charges of murder and an enhancement alleging the murder was committed with a knife. She praised investigators for their work on the case.

“While in some cases we do immediately have a suspect, that was not the situation here,” she said. “As a result of their hard work, Mr. Lee’s killer has been identified, arrested, and now will be brought to justice.”

Update 2:15 p.m. EDT April 13: Records from San Francisco County Jail show authorities booked Nima Momeni, 38, into jail on a murder charge on Thursday morning. Neighbors told the Chronicle that police approached his home in Emeryville just after 5 a.m., yelling that they had a warrant for his arrest.

Momeni has owned the San Francisco Bay Area-based IT outsourcing business Expand IT since 2010, according to his LinkedIn profile. The website for the business, which billed itself as “designed to deliver the power of a fully staffed and experienced IT department at a fraction of the cost of managing it in-house,” was no longer online as of Thursday afternoon.

Police are expected to share more information about the investigation at a news conference scheduled to start later Thursday.

Original report: San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin confirmed the arrest to the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday. Lee’s ex-wife, Krista Lee, told KTVU that she believes the suspect knew him. The suspect also works in tech and lived in Emeryville, according to Mission Local. The news site was first to report the arrest on Thursday.

“This is the first step toward justice,” Krista Lee told KTVU.

Board of Supervisors Member Matt Dorsey, who represents the area where Bob Lee was stabbed, thanked police for their work in investigating the tech exec’s death in a statement posted on Twitter.

“Obviously, nothing can undo this senseless crime, and we reiterate our condolences to Mr. Lee’s family members, friends and colleagues,” Dorsey said. “But I hope today’s arrest can begin a process of healing and closure for all those touched by this tragedy.”

Police did not immediately confirm news of the arrest.

Officers found Bob Lee, 43, stabbed in the predawn hours of April 4, according to police. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Bob Lee founded the mobile payment app Cash App, which initially launched in 2013, according to Forbes. In the last quarter of 2022, the app had 51 million active users and generated $848 million in gross profit, according to Block, Inc., the company that owns Cash App.

Earlier, Bob Lee worked as the chief technology officer for the financial services platform Square. At the time of his death, he was working

In a statement obtained by The Associated Press, the company’s CEO remembered Bob Lee as a “dear friend and colleague.”

“From large contributions to Android at google, to being the first CTO of Square, in that time creating Cash App, and working with us here at Mobilecoin, Bob surely had an impact that will last far beyond his short time on earth,” Josh Goldbard said.

Bob Lee had moved from San Francisco to Florida to live with his father following the death of his mother, Krista Lee told KTVU. Friends told KGO-TV that he was back in the city for a business summit with MobileCoin.

He is survived by two children.