The trial of tech entrepreneur Nima Momeni for the death of Cash App founder Bob Lee got under way in California on Monday, with the defendant’s sister at the center of the drama.
The multi-millionaire Lee was found in San Francisco on April 4, 2023, bleeding out from multiple stab wounds, as CrimeOnline reported. Momeni, 40, and Lee were seen on security footage 30 minutes earlier leaving Momeni’s sister’s condo and driving away in Lee’s car.
Lee, 43, was reportedly having an affair with the sister, 38-year-0ld Khazar Elyassnia, married to a prominent plastic surgeon. The blood-soaked kitchen knife found a the scene came from Elyassnia’s condo, prosecutor’s say.
Momeni’s attorneys say their client killed Lee in self-defense, that the crypto-millionaire attacked him first. They Elyassnia and Lee were involved in debauched drug and sex parties known as “The Lifestyle” and that Momeni objected. While at Elyassnia’s condo, Momeni allegedly asked Lee if he had been “doing drugs or anything inappropriate” with his sister, which Lee denied.
Lee and Elyassnia had reportedly been at a “Lifestyle” party the night before the murder.
An autopsy showed that Lee had cocaine and ketamine in his system when he died.
Prosecutors say Momeni also has a history of substance abuse.
According to The New York Post, prosecutors intend to introduce text messages from Elyassnia calling her brother “f****** psychotic” as part of their case against him.
Elyassnia is expected to testify at the trial, KRON reported.
Lee, a divorced father of two also known as “Crazy Bob,” was the chief technology officer of payment company Square, owned by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, when Square launched Cash App in 2013 under the name Square Cash. After leaving Square and Cash App, Lee joined crypto company MobileCoin in 2021.
