Nima Momeni, the man convicted of killing Cash App founder Bob Lee, is making a new attempt to challenge his conviction, arguing that racial bias tainted his trial.

Momeni, 42, is scheduled to appear in a San Francisco courtroom Friday as his new defense team seeks relief under California’s Racial Justice Act, according to reports.

Momeni, who was born in Iran and is not a US citizen, was convicted of second-degree murder in December 2024 for the fatal stabbing of Lee.

His attorneys reportedly allege that prosecutors used dehumanizing or ethnically charged descriptions of Momeni during the trial and that racial bias influenced the proceedings.

A San Francisco Superior Court judge is expected to hear evidence on the claim at Friday’s hearing.

Lee was fatally stabbed in 2023

The case dates back to the early morning of April 4, 2023, when Lee, 43, was fatally stabbed in San Francisco.

Lee was a prominent figure in the technology industry. He had worked as a Google engineer, helped create Cash App and later served as an executive at cryptocurrency company MobileCoin.

After being stabbed, Lee managed to call 911 and seek help before collapsing on a San Francisco street. Prosecutors argued that Momeni deliberately took Lee away from his sister Khazar Elyassnia’s apartment and attacked him.

The prosecution’s case centered heavily on the relationship between Lee and Khazar, as well as an alleged dispute involving her.

Prosecutors argued that Momeni believed Lee had been involved with his sister and blamed him for events surrounding an alleged assault involving a drug dealer.

Momeni, however, gave jurors a very different account.

He testified that Lee attacked him after Momeni made what he described as a bad joke about Lee spending time at strip clubs rather than with his family.

Prosecutors maintained that Lee was unarmed when he was killed.

Racial Justice Act argument

California enacted the Racial Justice Act in 2021, allowing defendants to challenge convictions or sentences when racial bias or discrimination is shown to have played a prohibited role in their cases.

The law has already been used successfully in San Francisco. In 2025, a judge granted an RJA motion involving a Black defendant convicted on gun charges, reducing his felony conviction to a misdemeanor.

It remains unclear what effect a successful RJA challenge would have on Momeni’s murder conviction.

Despite being convicted nearly 20 months ago, Momeni has not yet been sentenced and remains in San Francisco County Jail.

If ultimately sentenced on the murder conviction, he faces 16 years to life in prison.