FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF No. 19-16459 AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. Nos. 2:17-cv-02404-JAM-CKD v. 2:03-cr-00379-JAM-CKD-1 YULY KROYTOR, Defendant-Appellant. OPINION Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California John A. Mendez, District Judge, Presiding Argued and Submitted June 8, 2020 San Francisco, California Filed October 14, 2020 Before: Eric D. Miller and Danielle J. Hunsaker, Circuit Judges, and Patrick J. Schiltz, * District Judge. Opinion by Judge Hunsaker * The Honorable Patrick J. Schiltz, United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota, sitting by designation. 2 UNITED STATES V. KROYTOR SUMMARY ** Coram Nobis The panel affirmed the district court’s denial of a petition for a writ of error coram nobis brought by Yuly Kroytor, a lawful permanent resident from Canada, who pleaded guilty to health care fraud and was convicted in 2005. The government seeks to remove Kroytor from the United States because his conviction is an aggravated felony. In 2016, Kroytor filed the coram nobis petition, seeking to withdraw his guilty plea because the attorney who represented him at sentencing provided ineffective assistance by misadvising him that he could not withdraw his plea but could prevent immigration officials from finding out about his conviction and thereby avoid removal. The panel held that Kroytor is not entitled to coram nobis relief because, after learning that the only way he could avoid removal was to challenge his conviction, he waited two years, without a valid reason, before filing his petition for a writ of error coram nobis. The panel held specifically that uncertainty or ambiguity in the law is not itself a valid reason to delay seeking coram nobis relief. ** This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader. UNITED STATES V. KROYTOR 3 COUNSEL Benjamin Lee Coleman (argued), Coleman & Balogh LLP, San Diego, California; Davina T. Chen, Glendale, California; for Defendant-Appellant. Matthew G. Morris (argued), Assistant United States Attorney; Camil A. Skipper, Appellate Chief; McGregor W. Scott, United States Attorney; United States Attorney’s Office, Sacramento, California; for Plaintiff-Appellee. OPINION HUNSAKER, Circuit Judge: Yuly Kroytor, a lawful permanent resident from Canada, pleaded guilty to health care fraud and was convicted in 2005. The government seeks to remove Kroytor from the United States because his conviction is an aggravated felony. Over many years, Kroytor tried to overcome the immigration consequences of his conviction by hiring numerous attorneys who gave him varying and often erroneous advice that he followed. In 2016, more than ten years after his conviction, Kroytor filed a petition for a writ of error coram nobis, seeking to withdraw his guilty plea because his criminal defense attorney who represented him at sentencing provided ineffective assistance of counsel by misadvising him that he could not withdraw his plea but could prevent immigration officials from finding out about his conviction and thereby avoid removal. We conclude that Kroytor is not entitled ...
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