A US district court in New York has sentenced Tyrese Haspil
to 40 years in prison for the murder of Fahim Saleh, founder of Gokada, a Nigerian
ride-hailing company.
Although Haspil was sentenced on Friday, the 25-year-old
American man had been convicted by a New York state supreme court jury two
months ago.
He was found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree
grand larceny and other charges.
The convict, who was Saleh’s personal assistant, had stolen
tens of thousands of dollars (estimated total of $400,000) from him before
resigning in 2019.
The district attorney’s office said that Haspil repaid Saleh
using funds obtained through a PayPal scheme, but “the embezzlement continued
reaching an estimated total of $400,000”.
Prosecutors say surveillance footage captured Haspil
entering Saleh’s apartment building in Lower Manhattan on July 13, 2020, and
following him into the elevator.
They said that upon exiting the elevator which led directly
into Saleh’s apartment, Haspil deployed a taser against Saleh’s back and then
repeatedly stabbed him in the neck and torso with a knife, resulting in his
death.
The next day, Haspil returned to the apartment where he
“dismembered and decapitated Mr. Saleh’s body using the saw and placed the body
parts in pre-ordered construction bags,” as stated in a press release.
Saleh’s cousin made the discovery after visiting his apartment
having not received any communication from him in 24 hours. She immediately
notified the police.
Haspil was arrested four days later at an Airbnb location he
had rented to celebrate his girlfriend’s birthday.
The Gokada founder had discovered Haspil’s embezzlement of
thousands of dollars from his accounts, to which Haspil had access as his
executive assistant since 2018.
The prosecutors say Haspil had plotted to murder Saleh “at
least three times” before ultimately carrying out the crime in July 2020.
They say the murder was committed to hide the embezzlement
and prevent Saleh from potentially serving as a witness against him.
Gokada is a ride-hailing service in Nigeria which launched
in 2017 before diversifying into logistics and food delivery in 2020.
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