Lawyer: New York tech mogul killed by assistant because he feared his girlfriend would leave him if she found out he embezzled money from his boss

The assistant of a wealthy New York company boss killed the business magnate out of “unconditional love” for his girlfriend because he feared she would leave him if she found out that he was financing her lavish lifestyle by embezzling money from his boss, his lawyer argued on Friday.

Tyrese Haspil’s out-of-control passion drove him into “extreme emotional disturbance” and led him to slaughter investor Fahim Saleh in his Lower East Side apartment in July 2020 to cover up his theft of nearly half a million dollars, defense attorney Sam Roberts told jurors in his closing argument in his client’s Manhattan murder trial.

“It’s the first person he’s been attached to in any way in 19 years – unconditional love,” Roberts said

The 25-year-old personal assistant confesses to the murder, but claims he was driven to the crime by love so that the charge of first-degree murder could be downgraded to second-degree manslaughter.

His lawyer told jurors in Manhattan Supreme Court that he was doted on French currency trader Marine Chaveuz and lavished her with weekend trips for her friends and designer items, his lawyer argued.

He feared she would “let him down” like others in his life had done, and paid for things like helicopter rides to the airport and a fancy apartment, Roberts said.

“He essentially takes on the role of the payer for her love,” Roberts said after showing jurors pictures of receipts from Louis Vuitton and other expensive items Haspil had purchased for Chaveuz.

Haspil’s love affair funded by the embezzlement eventually grew to $400,000 by May 2020, prosecutors said. They accused him of killing Saleh only because he feared being exposed and losing the lifestyle he had built with the embezzled money.

“Tyrese Haspil murdered Fahim Saleh because (Saleh) stood between Tyrese Haspil and what he wanted,” said Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Linda Ford.

“Tyrese Haspil gets what he wants. Let me put it another way – he lasts what he wants.”

Haspil, who according to the indictment premeditated the gruesome murder, went beyond his means by flaunting a false lifestyle that he knew would not last.

“He flies to JFK by helicopter instead of by plane. He lives in a luxury building with a gym, not a fourth-floor apartment with no elevator,” Ford said, adding that Haspil “does everything with Fahim’s money” until Saleh became a “threat to that lifestyle.”

Haspil’s lawyers have argued that Chaveuz was scheduled to return to France a year before the murder, but her stay was extended, which pleased him but also made him realize he had to continue stealing from Saleh.

Haspil previously testified in the trial that he considered suicide but ultimately decided to kill Saleh, the CEO of motorcycle startup Gokada, so that he could buy time and give Chaveuz the perfect birthday before she was due to return to France in the summer.

And when her birthday came on July 19, Haspil stole $27,739 between July 12 and 14, 2020 – the largest amount he embezzled – because he wanted to give her the best birthday yet, his lawyer claimed.

“He’s not interested in getting away with murder. He’s interested in buying gold birthday balloons,” Roberts said.

Prosecutors, however, rejected the excuse for the murder and argued that Haspil had been greedy even before finding his one true love.

“He takes Uber to high school,” Ford joked, referring to Haspil’s earlier admission that he embezzled $20,000 from a Moe’s Southwestern Grill where he once worked before creating a fake resume to land a job with Saleh.

The premeditated murder charge against Haspil carries a minimum sentence of 20 years to life imprisonment if convicted.

If his lawyers can convince the jury to believe the emotional disturbance defense, the charge would be downgraded to manslaughter, which carries a prison sentence of only five to 25 years.

He is also charged with grand theft, burglary and other charges related to theft from Saleh.

Haspil testified that he killed Saleh because he knew he would not have to pay him back the money and that he did not want his girlfriend to find out that he had stolen from Saleh to finance their relationship.

His lawyers argue that Haspil’s difficult childhood with an abusive mother and moving between multiple households left him fearful of abandonment, which explains why he had to prove his worth to Chaveuz.

These allegations are not worth believing, prosecutors told the jury.

“This is not about the birthday party,” said Ford, paying tribute to Haspil’s childhood.

“This is about the murder of Fahim Saleh because he was a witness… it’s that simple.”

The jury’s deliberations begin on Monday.