Tech consultant arrested in killing of Cash App founder

A self-proclaimed technology consultant was arrested Thursday in connection with the death of Cash App founder Bob Lee last week in San Francisco, police said.

Nima Momeni, 38, was booked on suspicion of murder, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said during a news conference. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said Momeni will be charged with manslaughter in Lee’s death and is expected to go to trial on Monday.

Scott refused to give details about how they were linked to Momeni’s death or how they knew each other. The chief also refused to reveal the motive behind the killing.

San Francisco Council President Aaron Peskin announced the arrest of the suspect in Emeryville, a suburb of San Francisco.

Police found Lee with stab wounds in the Rincon Hill neighborhood of San Francisco at 2:30 local time on April 4. He died at the hospital.

Lee is known for creating the widely used mobile payment service Cash App while working as chief technology officer at payments company Square, now known as Block. He was head of product for cryptocurrency company MobileCoin at the time of his death.

On his LinkedIn profile, Momeni describes himself as an “IT Consultant/Entrepreneur” as well as the “owner” of a company called Expand IT.

It is unclear whether Momeni has a lawyer to speak for him.

“I hope today’s arrest can begin the process of healing and closure for all affected by this tragedy,” Matt Dorsey, another San Francisco supervisor, tweeted Thursday morning.

Prominent tech leaders took to social media to mourn Lee’s death and to blame San Francisco for what they called the city’s lax attitude toward crime. Scott and Jenkins rejected that narrative on Thursday, with prosecutors specifically naming tech billionaire Elon Musk to comment on the case.

“This has nothing to do with San Francisco, this has to do with human nature,” Scott said.

San Francisco news outlet Mission Local first reported Momeni’s arrest.