Lawyer for Cash App founder Bob Lee’s suspected murderer Nima Momeni quits court
Cash App Founder Bob Lee’s Accused Murderer Nima Momeni FIRES Lawyer After Defense Strategy Clashes And Replaces Her With ‘100% Persian’ Miami Lawyer
- Nima Momeni fired Paula Canny and replaced her with Saam Zangeneh
- Canny shouted ‘you’ll miss me!’ as her former client was led out of court today
Nima Momeni, the man charged with the murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee, dramatically dropped his lawyer today and instead hired a “100 percent Persian” alternative from Miami.
Momeni was represented by Paula Canny. He is charged with stabbing Lee to death in the early hours of April 4 in San Francisco.
Prosecutors say the couple had argued earlier in the evening about Lee’s relationship with Momeni’s married sister, and that he feared the pair were using drugs together.
Paula Canny, speaking today outside the courtroom. She was fired by Momeni after a disagreement over whether or not to speed things up. “It’s not happening,” she said after a brief hearing
Nima Momeni, shown during an earlier trial, had wanted to speed things up
Today Canny has been formally released by the judge after filing a request to withdraw from the case.
Cash App founder Bob Lee was murdered on April 4
She screamed ‘you will miss me!’ while Momeni was led out of court in handcuffs.
While it’s unclear exactly why she was replaced (she declined to tell reporters afterwards), Momeni hired Saam Zangeneh, a Miami-based lawyer with offices in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
On social media, he describes himself as “100 percent Persian.” Momeni and his sister moved to the US from Iran as children.
Momeni had previously asked for the case to be expedited, which Canny opposed as she believed it would give prosecutors the upper hand by reducing her preparation time.
After the brief hearing, Canny told reporters she stepped down with “great disappointment and relief.”
Canny has been replaced by Saam Zangeneh, a Miami-based lawyer with offices in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On social media, he describes himself as ‘100 percent Persian’
Prosecutors say Momeni was angry with Lee for dating his married sister, Khazar
Both Momeni and his sister moved to the US from Iran as children
Momeni and his attorney had been close before their disagreement over strategy. They will be shown on April 25
‘S**t happens in representing people. I can’t reveal the nature of the conflict… it’s super interesting, but I’m never going to tell you,” she said, citing attorney-client privilege.
Zangeneh was not present at the hearing today. He’s still in Florida.
It remains unclear whether he will agree to expedite the case, as Momeni had requested from Canny, or whether he, too, wants more time.
Lee, a single father who had recently moved from California to Miami when he was killed, was back in San Francisco for a conference when he was killed.
He had spent time with Momeni’s sister Khazar during the day, whom he called Tina, and drank with Momeni at night in the hours before he died.
Text messages show Khazar thanking Lee for being a “gentleman” while her brother was “tough” on him.
Nima lived in an attic that was also his study when he was killed.
Khazar Momeni, who is married to a prominent Bay Area plastic surgeon, has not yet commented on the allegations against her brother.