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Nima Momeni allegedly killed Cash App founder Bob Lee over fight about sister, court docs say

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IT consultant Nima Momeni fatally stabbed CashApp founder Bob Lee through the heart after the pair fought about the suspect’s sister — and whether they were doing “anything inappropriate,” new court documents released Friday allege.

Police claim that before Lee was murdered on the streets of San Francisco in the early hours of April 4, Momeni and the slain tech entrepreneur had talked on the phone about his sister, Khazar Elyassnia, who was married to someone else.

An unnamed witness told police that Momeni grilled Lee about his sister, asking if Elyassnia, who is married to a prominent plastic surgeon, was “doing drugs or anything inappropriate.” 

Lee, 43, assured his alleged murderer that nothing out of bounds had happened.

Police didn’t elaborate on the relationship Lee had with Elyassnia, who was not named in the court documents.

The witness told police it was unclear to them if Lee and Elyassnia had an “intimate relationship.” 

Lee had been estranged from his wife, with whom he shared two young girls, at the time of his murder and had moved from California to Florida with his dad.

Nima Momeni allegedly killed Bob Lee over suspicion of an inappropriate relationship with his married sister. Facebook / Nima Momeni

That fateful night, Momeni drove Lee to a “dark and secluded area” of San Francisco, the charging documents allege, where he stabbed him through the heart with a kitchen knife.

Momeni brought the knife with him from his home, which police said makes clear the murder was “planned and deliberate.”

Khazar texted Lee around the time of his murder to check in on him, the documents claim.

Khazar Elyassnia is the sister of alleged killer Nima Momeni. Dino Elyassnia/Facebook

“Just wanted to make sure your doing ok Cause I know nima came wayyyyyy down hard on you,” she wrote.

“And thank you for being such a class man handling it with class. Love you Selfish pricks.”

Momeni was arrested Thursday morning after an exhaustive investigation and made his first appearance in court Friday, which attended by his sister and her husband. He flashed a heart sign to her from the dock and she responded with the same symbol. Momeni is set to be formally arraigned on April 25 and faces more than 20 years in prison if convicted.

Here's what we know about Nima Momeni

Who is Nima Momeni?

Nima Momeni was the boss of a company called Expand IT, which helped other businesses with their IT infrastructure and cybersecurity.

Why was he arrested?

Momeni was arrested after the stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee. Police are charging him with murdering the 43-year-old.

Police said the 28-year-old knew Lee but didn’t elaborate on their relationship with each other or what the alleged motive was. 

What are the next steps?

Momeni is scheduled to appear in court Friday for an arraignment.

He faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in prison if he’s convicted on all the charges, prosecutors said.

Learn more about Nima Momeni

Momeni was arrested Thursday morning and prosecutors plan to charge him with murder.

Momeni is set to be formally arraigned on April 25 and faces a sentence of 26 years to life in prison if convicted on all of the charges.

Khazar Elyassnia (left) stands in the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on Friday, April 14, 2023, ahead of an appearance by her brother, Nima Momeni. AP

Police paint a somewhat hazy picture of Lee’s final hours, saying he went between Elyassnia’s multi-million dollar high-rise apartment during the afternoon of April 3, where they drank along with a witness and someone else who lived in the apartment. 

That apartment has since been searched by police.

The witness and Lee then headed back to the tech titan’s hotel room in San Francisco, which is when he spoke to Momeni on the phone.

Lee was murdered on the streets of San Francisco in the early hours of April 4, police say. @boblee/Twitter

The pair then went to Lee’s apartment also in San Francisco, where they hung out for a while.

At 12:30 a.m., Lee left his own apartment.

The witness stayed and never saw Lee again. Police did not explain the relationship between Lee and the witness, but said the two had known each other for around a decade.

Heart symbols are exchanged between Nima Momeni, the 38-year-old founder of software company Expand IT, and family members as he appears before Judge Christine Van Aken, accused of the stabbing murder of Cash App founder Lee. REUTERS

The morning of April 4, the witness called Elyassnia and asked if Lee had gone over, unsure where he went. 

The sister said yes, but only stayed “for a second” — adding that she fell asleep and doesn’t know where he went. 

Video footage from the sister’s apartment confirms Lee went back to Elyassnia’s place in the early morning of April 4.

It also shows him and Momeni in an elevator together at 2:03 a.m. in the ritzy building before the two got into the alleged killer’s white BMW.

Not soon after, authorities said grainy video captured Lee and Momeni standing outside of the BMW for about five minutes in a deserted part of the wealthy Rincon Hills neighborhood.

That’s when it is believed Momeni stabbed Lee “three separate times, “prosecutors said in their motion to hold the suspect without bail. 

“One of the wounds, showing a direct and clear intent to kill, penetrated the Victim’s heart,” Assistant District Attorney Omid Talai wrote.

Additional security cameras appear to show Lee walking away injured and Momeni walking near the area where the murder weapon was discovered, but the video isn’t clear enough to show their faces. 

The white BMW then sped off at a high speed, police say, and Lee was left “to slowly die.”