A San Francisco man convicted of murdering Cash App founder Bob Lee now claims racial bias tainted his trial, invoking California’s Racial Justice Act in a Friday court hearing that could impact his second-degree murder conviction nearly 20 months after the guilty verdict.
Murder Conviction Faces New Challenge
Nima Momeni, 42, was found guilty in December 2024 of second-degree murder for the April 2023 stabbing death of tech executive Bob Lee. Despite the conviction, Momeni has never been sentenced and remains in San Francisco County jail. His new defense team filed a motion under California’s Racial Justice Act, alleging prosecutors used ethnically charged and dehumanizing language during trial proceedings. Momeni was born in Iran and speaks English as a second language, factors his attorneys claim influenced how prosecutors portrayed him to jurors.
A San Francisco Superior Court judge will hear evidence Friday morning regarding these allegations. The legal filing does not clarify what would happen to Momeni’s murder conviction if the judge grants the motion. The heavy delay in sentencing has left the case in legal limbo for nearly two years since the jury delivered its verdict.
The Fatal Stabbing Beneath The Bay Bridge
Bob Lee, 43, was stabbed through the heart in the early morning hours of April 4, 2023, between 2:25 and 2:30 a.m. beneath the Bay Bridge. After the attack, Lee left a blood trail as he called 911 begging for help before collapsing on Main Street. Prosecutors argued Momeni launched a revenge attack after his younger sister Khazar was sexually assaulted by a drug dealer. According to the prosecution, Momeni blamed Lee because Lee had used drugs with Khazar, introduced her to the dealer, and left her alone with the assailant.
Khazar, married to a wealthy plastic surgeon, maintained a casual relationship with Lee and attended parties with him. Prosecutors presented flirtatious text messages between the pair to jurors. The evidence showed Momeni lured Lee away from Khazar’s luxury Millennium Tower apartment to a dark street beneath the Bay Bridge, where prosecutors say he killed the unarmed tech founder.
Text Messages Revealed Family Conflict
After the stabbing, Khazar sent Lee a message that morning before learning of his death, writing that she wanted to make sure he was doing okay because her brother had come down hard on him. She also sent angry messages to Momeni asking what happened to Lee after they left her apartment, calling her brother a psycho and lunatic in texts shown to jurors. Momeni took the stand during trial and offered a different account of events, though jurors ultimately convicted him of second-degree murder. The outcome of Friday’s hearing could determine whether his conviction stands or faces further legal scrutiny under California’s racial justice protections.