Nima Momeni killed Bob Lee in self-defense, lawyers claim

Defense attorneys for alleged killer Nima Momeni will argue that Cash App founder Bob Lee displayed an “outburst of aggression” on the night Momeni stabbed him in 2023, forcing Momeni to “stand his ground,” according to documents obtained by Mission on site.

Momeni “acted in self-defense,” the defense attorneys wrote in a trial brief, and “remained steadfast after [Lee] attacked him with a weapon.”

The witnesses the defense plans to call would support that claim, attorney Saam Zangeneh said, adding that a medical examiner would opine that Lee's drug use contributed to his “erratic behavior.”

While it is unclear whether these statements will hold up in court, the documents did offer insight into the defense's strategy.

Prosecutors have suggested that Momeni stabbed Lee out of anger at his sister, Khazar Momeni, who had been spending time with Lee at the home of alleged drug dealer Jeremy Boivin on April 3, 2023. In a filing last week, they alleged that Nima Momeni believed his sister had been attacked that day and Lee may have had something to do with it, even though Lee was not present at the time.

Momeni's lawyers, meanwhile, insisted that he acted in self-defense against Lee, who was found bleeding on the street in the early hours of April 4, 2023.

“Lee was holding the knife during a struggle and … his wounds were sustained as a result of said struggle,” a use-of-force expert will testify, according to the document, adding that all three of Lee's stab wounds were “the result of self-defense by the defendant.”

It is unclear whether there is footage or other evidence that Lee was holding the knife.

Lee and Momeni were seen on security cameras leaving Khazar's home in the Millennium Tower together in Momeni's white BMW. After stopping for a while near the Bay Bridge, Lee was seen walking away bleeding in the street while Momeni drove away in his car.