A Bosnian-born U.S. citizen has pleaded guilty to lying about her violent past during the Balkan conflict to fraudulently obtain American citizenship, according to the Justice Department.
Federal prosecutors said Nada Radovan Tomanic, 53, concealed her role in the abuse of civilian prisoners during the 1990s war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti said Tomanic “obtained the privileges of U.S. citizenship through lies and deceit,” adding that she hid “the violent crimes she committed” while serving with a military unit involved in human rights abuses.
U.S. Attorney David Sullivan of the District of Connecticut called the offense “egregious,” and thanked U.S. and Bosnian authorities for helping investigators ensure accountability.
According to court records, Tomanic served in the Zulfikar Special Unit of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the regional conflict. Prosecutors said she joined other soldiers in physically and psychologically abusing Bosnian Serb civilian detainees.
When she applied for U.S. naturalization in 2012, Tomanic denied ever serving in a detention facility or participating in the detention of others. Authorities said she also lied about committing crimes for which she had not been arrested, including inflicting serious bodily harm under Yugoslav-era law.
Her deception continued during a sworn interview with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer. Prosecutors said she repeated the false statements despite being legally obligated to answer truthfully.
Tomanic pleaded guilty to one count of procuring citizenship contrary to law, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 3.
The conviction may lead to the revocation of her citizenship in a separate legal process.
FBI Special Agent in Charge P.J. O’Brien said Tomanic’s actions “undermine the process for all who justly apply” to become Americans. He condemned her admitted history of targeting civilians based on “ethnicity and religion.”
The FBI led the investigation with support from the Department of Homeland Security’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, the USCIS Office of Fraud Detection and National Security, and the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit.
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