In July 2020, New York law enforcement authorities say the body of Bangladeshi-American tech entrepreneur Fahim Saleh was found cut into pieces on his apartment floor. A few days later, police arrested their suspect: Saleh’s own personal assistant.
Though, the motive behind the killing made matters even more sinister.
In 2015, shortly after graduating college, Saleh founded rideshare company Pathao which was based in Bangladesh and Nepal. Two years later, he founded Gokada, another rideshare and delivery company reliant on motorcycles based in Nigeria. In addition to managing and investing in international rideshare services, he’d also founded the Manhattan-based firm Adventure Capital -- all of which he achieved by the ripe age of 33.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Saleh hired 25-year-old Tyrese Haspil in May 2018 as an assistant to help manage his finances, run personal errands and handle other tasks related to having direct access to Saleh’s financial records. However, once the summer ended, prosecutors say Haspil began stealing from Saleh’s companies in two deliberate schemes.
First, he created a PayPal account using a name that would blend in with the other business transactions to funnel money to himself. Secondly, he created a corporate entity and bank account where he also mimicked business transactions with Saleh’s companies to funnel funds to himself.
The Scam Revealed
Haspil filled his pockets with money and bought luxurious gifts for his girlfriend, until he resigned in May 2019 in anticipation of getting caught...but he didn’t shut down the accounts, according to prosecutors. In 2020, Saleh noticed a fraudulent transaction traced to Haspil and confronted him about the money he stole: a whopping $35,000. In a sheer act of kindness and an effort to keep Haspil from prosecution, Saleh offered his assistant a chance to pay back his debt in a two-year payment plan.
However, Haspil finessed the system by paying back Saleh with the funds he stole from the PayPal account he created. He also continued to steal money through that account, embezzling triple what he originally got caught for: a total of $400,000, prosecutors said. Haspil’s next plan of action was to ensure he escaped prosecution. That meant eliminating the one person who would sell him out: Saleh.
A Horrifying Plot
Leading up to the murder, Haspil apparently researched different weapons online, bought contractor bags and cleaning supplies, purchased new clothing to hide his identity and even tracked Saleh’s location on social media to locate his apartment. But he didn’t stop there.
Haspil contacted the broker of the vacant apartment across from Saleh’s building to set up shop there and even installed a surveillance camera to stalk him. Then, he researched how deep the Hudson River is and how to make things sink, prosecutors say.
The morning of July 13, 2020 is when everything came into play. Haspil followed someone into the lobby of Saleh’s apartment building and hid in the stairwell armed with a knife and taser, donning a mask and all-black attire. When Saleh arrived, Haspil followed him into the elevator, which opened directly into Saleh’s apartment.
Prosecutors say Haspil tased him in the back and stabbed him in the neck and torso. He then discarded the Anti-Felon Identification Discs that were discharged from the taser to keep law enforcement from being able to locate the serial number of the weapon. He left by 3 p.m. and took an Uber to Jersey City. Prosecutors say he returned the following day to dismember Saleh’s body with a saw and placed the remains into the construction bags he’d purchased.
However, he didn’t finish the job due to the battery of the saw going dead. When he left to purchase a charger, Saleh’s cousin arrived at the apartment for a wellness check and walked in on the horror scene.
Caught After The Act
Haspil returned to the home but fled once he realized the police were present. Prosecutors say he didn’t go into hiding but went to plan a luxurious birthday party for his girlfriend using the money he stole for a private yacht tour, SoHo Airbnb and extravagant decorations.
During the planning, police say his web searches included, “dismembered body,” “Fahim Saleh,” and articles on the “murder of a tech CEO in New York.”
Four days after the killing, officers arrested Haspil at the party Airbnb he rented. He was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree grand larceny, burlargy in the second degree, tampering with physical evidence and concealment of a human corpse. A jury convicted him of all counts on June 24.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Tuesday (Sept. 1o) that Haspil will spend 40 years to life in prison for his crimes.