WASHINGTON, D.C. (WVVA) – A naturalized U.S. citizen from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nada Radovan Tomanic, 53, pleaded guilty on November 10 to federal charges related to her deception in obtaining U.S. citizenship. Tomanic concealed her involvement in war crimes committed during the Bosnian conflict in the 1990s.
According to court documents, Tomanic served with the Zulfikar Special Unit of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During her service, she participated in the physical and psychological abuse of Bosnian Serb civilian prisoners. When applying for U.S. naturalization in 2012, Tomanic falsely denied her service in a detention facility and her involvement in crimes, specifically inflicting serious bodily harm, which is an offense under the Criminal Law of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia. She reiterated these falsehoods under oath during her interview with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer.
The defendant obtained the privileges of U.S. citizenship through lies and deceit, concealing the violent crimes she committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Department is fully committed to holding accountable those who exploit our immigration system and pose a threat to public safety.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division emphasized the department’s commitment to holding accountable those who exploit the immigration system. U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan for the District of Connecticut highlighted the egregious nature of covering up human rights abuses to attain U.S. citizenship. Special Agent in Charge P.J. O’Brien of the FBI New Haven Field Office condemned Tomanic’s actions, noting her history of targeting people based on ethnicity and religion, and reaffirmed the FBI’s dedication to investigating such crimes to maintain the integrity of the immigration process.
Covering up past human rights abuses to attain U.S. citizenship is an egregious offense, and I thank our law enforcement partners both here in the U.S. and in Bosnia and Herzegovina for investigating this matter to ensure that justice is done.
Tomanic pleaded guilty to one count of procuring citizenship contrary to law. She is scheduled for sentencing on February 3, 2026, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors will be considered by a federal district court judge in determining her sentence.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Elizabeth Nielsen of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anastasia King and Angel Krull for the District of Connecticut. The investigation was led by the FBI, with coordination from the Department of Homeland Security’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Office of Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS), and the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit (IHRU). Authorities from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbian authorities, and the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals provided crucial assistance.
The Justice Department encourages anyone with information about human rights violators in the United States to contact the FBI or Homeland Security Investigations through their respective tip lines or online forms.
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