Nima Momeni was convicted of murd3:ring Cash App founder Bob Lee… but his lawyers are now making an argument that could take the entire case in a different direction
THE man charged with murdering Cash App founder Bob Lee is claiming racial bias tainted his trial.
Nima Momeni, 42, is due back in a San Francisco courtroom Friday, where his new defense team will argue that prosecutors violated California’s Racial Justice Act during the case.
Cash App founder Bob Lee was murdered in December 2024Credit: Refer to Caption
Nima Momeni was charged with murder but is yet to be sentencedCredit: AP
He was found guilty of second- degree murder on December 17, 2024 but is awaiting a heavily delayed sentencing hearing.
Momeni, who was born in Iran and is not a US citizen, faces 16 years to life in prison.
But his attorneys are seeking an evidentiary hearing to examine allegations that prosecutors used dehumanizing and ethnically charged descriptions of him during the trial.
Momeni speaks English as a second language.
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The case stems from the early morning of April 4, 2023, when Lee, 43, was stabbed beneath the Bay Bridge between about 2.25 and 2.30am.
Lee, a dad of two, was a prominent figure in the technology industry.
He worked as a Google engineer, founded Cash App and later served as an executive at cryptocurrency company MobileCoin.
After being stabbed, Lee left a trail of blood as he called 911 for help before collapsing on Main Street.
Prosecutors said Momeni attacked Lee in retaliation over his relationship with Momeni’s younger sister, Khazar Elyassnia.
According to prosecutors, Lee had used drugs with Khazar, introduced her to a drug dealer and later left her alone with the man, who they said sexually assaulted her.
Khazar, who is married to a wealthy plastic surgeon, had a casual relationship with Lee and attended parties with him. Prosecutors presented flirtatious text messages exchanged between the pair.
Prosecutors alleged Momeni lured Lee away from Khazar’s luxury Millennium Tower apartment and took him to a dark street beneath the Bay Bridge, where he stabbed him.
Khazar messaged Lee that morning before learning he had died, writing: “Just wanted to make sure your doing ok. Cause i know nima came wayyyyyy down hard on you.”
She also sent angry messages to Momeni demanding to know what had happened to Lee. Jurors were shown messages in which she called her brother a “lunatic” and “psycho.”
Momeni took the stand and offered a different account.
He testified that Lee attacked him after Momeni made a “bad joke” about Lee spending time in strip clubs instead of with his family.
Prosecutors maintained Lee was unarmed when he was killed.
California’s Racial Justice Act took effect in 2021.
In 2025, a San Francisco judge granted an RJA motion for the first time in the city, finding implicit racial bias against a Black man convicted of gun charges.
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His felony conviction was reduced to a misdemeanor.
It remains unclear, however, what effect a successful RJA motion would have on Momeni’s murder conviction.
SOURCE: THE SUN
https://www.the-sun.com/news/16843157/bob-lee-cashapp-murder-nima-momeni/
