The tech exec who was jailed for the fatal stabbing of CashApp founder Bob Lee has been arrested for carrying a switch device — and may have lied about attending a prestigious Bay Area school.
Facing a first-degree murder charge in the high-profile stabbing incident, Iranian-American technology consultant Neama Momeni was arrested Thursday.
The arrest occurred nine days after Lee’s April 4 stabbing sent shockwaves across the Bay Area, after many assumed the killing of the millionaire was the work of a hobo given the city’s crime situation.
Police have since revealed that the killing was not random and that Lee, 43, and the two suspects knew each other – information that prompted a bravado statement from Mayor London Breed, who is facing criticism over an increase in crime in her city.
Meanwhile, new details about Momeni keep emerging. She is supposed to be a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and the school says it has no record of the 38-year-old attending. The apartment where he was arrested—a rent—doubled as his home and acreage. As for his IT company, neighbors said he was the only employee there.
The cops have so far remained silent about the extent of his relationship with Lee, only confirming that they “know each other”. Police sources, however, say The couple met through Momeni’s sister – the owner of the luxury apartment complexes where Lee was found.
Facing a first-degree murder charge in the high-profile stabbing incident, Iranian-American technology consultant Neama Momeni was arrested Thursday.
Bob Lee, the 43-year-old founder of the Cash app, was stabbed to death on April 4. The news that Mollime, a confirmed acquaintance, surprised many, after many had assumed the millionaire’s killer to be a tramp given the crime situation in the city.
However, Lee has no violent criminal history — though he was arrested for several misdemeanors including a 2011 offense involving an illegal blade, which cops said he was selling illegally.
Records show the charge was eventually dismissed, after the 26-year-old pleaded guilty to another charge of driving with a suspended license stemming from a DUI – earning him 10 days in county jail.
Both crimes were classified as misdemeanours, and the perpetrator was eventually sentenced to ten days in prison and placed on probation for three years. Early Thursday, Momeni was arrested again, and charged with Lee’s murder.
The case made its way through California criminal courts in early 2011, records show — around the time an Iranian-American technology consultant, Nima Momini, was said to have founded Bay Area startup Expand IT.
In 2004, the tech entrepreneur — who immigrated to the United States with his mother sometime after the Iranian revolution — was charged with driving while intoxicated.
Thursday morning, Momeni was arrested again, after being tracked to a luxury loft inside a converted industrial apartment complex.
Officers arrived around 5 a.m., and neighbors reported hearing a loud bang from police officers knocking on the door of the accused killer.
Momeni was reportedly arrested without incident – leaving the spacious unit in which he lived and worked vacant.
The arrest occurred nine days after Lee’s April 4 stabbing sent shock waves across the Bay Area
Thursday morning, Momeni was arrested again, after being tracked to a luxury loft inside a converted industrial apartment complex.
Momeni was reportedly arrested without incident – leaving the spacious unit in which he lived and worked vacant
Nima Momeni was arrested at his loft (pictured) in Emeryville this morning. While touring the business unit — which records indicate is a rental — a neighbor recalled how Momeni’s home office contained a pool table and an array of expensive tech equipment.
Accounts obtained from local outlets indicate that Momeni met Lee through his sister Khazar Momeni (pictured), the wife of a prominent San Francisco plastic surgeon
When interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle Thursday, renters described Momeni as “warm and welcoming,” recalling how he regularly worked late nights while running his IT company.
A resident of the building—where apartments routinely sell for more than $800,000—recalls how the technician loved cars, boats, and women, with some adding that he had recently developed an interest in firearms and knives.
DrWhile touring the businessman’s unit—which records indicate is a rental—a neighbour He remembers how Momeni’s home office contained a pool table and a bunch of expensive tech equipment, supposed to run his company.
According to Momeni’s LinkedIn, the startup provides IT services such as cybersecurity and website hosting, including to companies in healthcare, law, and manufacturing, as well as other startups.
The company description reads, “We take care of the technical heavy lifting, so you can focus on growing your organization.” Momeni also claims to represent several non-profit organizations and government clients.
The company’s official website and LinkedIn profile were taken down Thursday, as news of the relatively young technician’s arrest began to spread.
On Momeni’s file, it says he attended UC Berkeley — a claim that has since surfaced as dubious. As a university spokesperson said Thursday, the university has no record of attending or graduating under his name.
As for how he communicated with Lee — who was based in Miami and was in San Francisco on business — police said only Thursday that the attack was not random.
On Momeni’s LinkedIn profile, he wrote that he attended UC Berkeley — a claim that has since emerged as dubious. As a university spokesperson said Thursday, the university has no record of attending or graduating under his name.
Moumini was previously stopped for carrying a key and driving with a suspended licence
Both crimes were classified as misdemeanours, and the perpetrator was eventually sentenced to ten days in prison and placed on probation for three years. Early Thursday, Momeni was arrested again, and charged with Lee’s murder
“We can confirm that Mr. Lee and Mr. Momeni knew each other,” said Police Chief Bill Scott.
However, accounts obtained from local outlets indicate that the two may have known each other through Momeni’s sister, Khazar Momeni, who they said had recently met Lee.
She is married to the wife of a prominent plastic surgeon, Dr. Dino Eliasnia, whose practice is also based in San Francisco.
The Khazars, also known as Khazar Elias, is the registered owner of the Millennium Apartment, an upscale building located just four blocks from where Lee was found bleeding to death, and an apartment block from the hotel he was staying at.
Police sources also revealed to The Standard that one of the three search warrants San Francisco cops executed Thursday during Momini’s arrest was at his sisters’ home, though the cops themselves only confirmed a search of three residences including Momini’s.
A friend of mine told the post that he believed Lee and Mominee had been partying the night before the stabbing, until early Tuesday.
Other accounts indicated that the two men were driving their car together through downtown San Francisco in Momeni’s car, before getting into some kind of argument.
San Francisco Mayor London Post this weekend urged people not to “jump to conclusions” about the high-profile murder, and said people would be “surprised” when the facts come out.
Amidst this outpouring of information, the Mayor of London Bried denounced the press for reports of other violent incidents seen under her administration being challenged.
“When the facts of many of these cases come out, a lot of people are going to be surprised,” Breed said Wednesday, adding that local and national reports surrounding the case left a false impression of safety in the city.
“It really escalates events like this – and also people jumping to conclusions about what they think is going on.”
Momeni has already been charged with murder from the city’s DA’s office, and is expected to appear in court on Friday morning.
