A naturalized U.S. citizen from Bosnia and Herzegovina has pleaded guilty after allegedly lying about prior human rights violations to obtain U.S. citizenship, officials said.
Nada Radovan Tomanic, 53, of West Virginia, formerly of Hartford, served with the Zulfikar Special Unit of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s, during the armed conflict in the region, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Connecticut. Officials allege that Tomanic participated in the physical and psychological abuse of Bosnian Serb civilian prisoners.
“The defendant obtained the privileges of U.S. citizenship through lies and deceit, concealing the violent crimes she committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Department is fully committed to holding accountable those who exploit our immigration system and pose a threat to public safety.”
“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,” said U.S. Attorney David Sullivan for the District of Connecticut.
When applying for U.S. naturalization in 2012, officials say Tomanic falsely denied having served in a detention facility or in any other situation involving the detention of others, officials said.
“Individuals who lie on their naturalization documents undermine the process for all who justly apply to be a part of our great nation,” said FBI special agent in charge P.J. O’Brien of the FBI.
“Tomanic’s admissions of fraud are detestable because of her history of targeting people based on their ethnicity and religion. The FBI, along with our partners at the Department of Homeland Security’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office of Fraud Detection and National Security will continue to investigate crimes of this nature to ensure the sanctity of the immigration process for all who righteously apply for U.S. Citizenship,” he said.
Tomanic pleaded guilty to procuring citizenship contrary to law.
She is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 3, 2026, and faces a maximum term of 10 years in prison.
Members of the public who have information about human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI (1-800-225-5324) or through the FBI’s online tip form at tips.fbi.gov or Homeland Security Investigations at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or through ICE’s online tip form at ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form.
Stephen Underwood can be reached at [email protected]