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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Bank Fraud |
Sentence: |
"1 year and 1 day in prison and $10,000 restitution" |
Years Imprisoned: |
0.85 |
Year Crime: |
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Year Convicted: |
1996 |
Year Cleared: |
2005 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
California - Federal Case |
County or Region of Crime: |
Los Angeles |
City of Crime: |
Los Angeles |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Kwok Chee Kwan was convicted on July 9, 1996 by pleding guilty in federal court in Los Angeles, California to two counts of bank fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344(1). Kwan pled guilty on advice of his lawyer that by doing so he would be eligible for various downward adjustments in his sentence that would be unavailable if he went to trial and lost. Under the guildelines the sentencing range was 18-24 months, but based on Kwan's guilty plea on December 2, 1996 the judge reduced his sentence to one year and one day and to pay restitution of $10,000. Kwan's lawyer didn't tell him that after he pled guilty, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 ("IIRIRA") was enacted on September 30, 1996. The IIRIRA amended the definition of an aggravated felony which would cover bank fraud and subject Kwan to deportation by his guilty plea if he received a sentence of more than one year. Kwan's lawyer inform or argue to the judge during Kwan's sentencing hearing that Kwan wouldn't be subject to deportation if was sentenced to less than a year in prison. On May 1, 1997 Kwan received a notice from the Immigration and Naturalization Service ("INS") that he was subject to deportation because he had been convicted of an aggravated felony. In December 1997 an Immigration Judge ruled Kwan's offense was not an aggravated felony under the IIRIRA. Kwan had completed his prison term and paid his $10,000 restitution, so he was released from INS custody. On May 26, 2000 the INS again issued Kwan a Notice to Appear informing him he was subject to deportation. On February 26, 2001 a different Immigration Judge ruled that Kwan was subject to deportation because his bank fraud conviction and sentence of more than a year qualified his offense as an "aggravated felony." Kwan filed a writ of coram nobis based on his counsel's ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to inform him he could be deported if he pled guilty. His writ was denied by the U.S. District Court. Kwan appealed, and on May 12, 2005 the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the District Court and granted his writ of coram nobis on his counsel's ineffective assistance of counsel. On July 21, 2005 the 9th Circuit issued an amended ruling that only corrected one factual statement in their earlier ruling." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Ineffective assistance of counsel. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On May 12, 2005 the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the District Court and granted his writ of coram nobis on his counsel's ineffective assistance of counsel." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
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Information Source 1: |
"US v. Kwan, 407 F. 3d 1005 (9th Cir. 2005)" |
Information Location 1: |
http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2005/07/20/0350315.pdf |
Information Source 2: |
"US v. Kwan, 407 F. 3d 1005 (9th Cir. 2005)" |
Information Location 2: |
"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6819669330093487075&q=407+F.3d+1005&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48" |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org