West Virginia Woman Sentenced to Prison for Lying to Obtain U.S. Citizenship After Committing Torture and War Crimes in Bosnia

A West Virginia woman who was a naturalized U.S. citizen from Bosnia and Herzegovina was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison for naturalization fraud based on lies about her prior criminal conduct to obtain U.S. citizenship. According to statements made in court and court documents, Nada Radovan Tomanić, 53, of West Virginia, served with the Zulfikar Special Unit of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s, during the armed conflict in the region. Along with other Zulfikar Special Unit soldiers, Tomanić participated in the severe physical and psychological abuse of Bosnian Serb civilian prisoners, including torture and inhuman treatment amounting to a war crime. When applying for U.S. naturalization in 2012, Tomanić falsely denied having served in a detention facility or in any other situation involving the detention of others. She also falsely denied having committed a crime for which she had not been arrested — specifically, the crime of inflicting serious bodily harm under the Criminal Law of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia. Tomanić’s deception extended beyond her written naturalization application. During her interview with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer, she was placed under oath and was legally obligated to answer questions truthfully. Despite that obligation, she again lied about her service in a detention facility and her past criminal conduct. “The defendant tortured and abused prisoners in Bosnia and then lied to U.S. immigration authorities to live in the U.S. and become a citizen,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Human rights violators are not welcome in the United States. Thanks to the courage of the victims, and the diligence and dedication of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners, the defendant has been held accountable for exploiting our immigration system and evading responsibility for her crimes.”