Bosnian Woman Living in Hartford Failed To Disclose War Crimes On Citizenship Application
A naturalized American citizen originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina has admitted in federal court that she concealed her past criminal conduct to obtain U.S. citizenship, marking the latest development in a case that spans decades and two continents. On November 10, 2025, in Bridgeport federal court, 53-year-old Nada Radovan Tomanic of West Virginia, formerly of Hartford, Connecticut, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from lies she told during the naturalization process.
Federal officials underscored the seriousness of the deception, emphasizing how hiding past violent acts undermines the integrity of the immigration system. Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti noted that Tomanic secured the privileges of citizenship “through lies and deceit,” adding that the Justice Department remains committed to holding accountable those who manipulate the system and endanger public safety. U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan for the District of Connecticut called the concealment of historic human rights abuses an “egregious offense,” crediting investigators in both the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina for their coordination. FBI Special Agent in Charge P.J. O’Brien described the misconduct as particularly disturbing because of Tomanic’s history of targeting individuals based on ethnicity and religion, stressing that lying during naturalization undermines the entire process for those who follow it lawfully.
According to court records, Tomanic served in the 1990s with the Zulfikar Special Unit of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an elite force active during the armed conflict in the region. Prosecutors say she participated with other members of the unit in the physical and psychological abuse of Bosnian Serb civilian prisoners. When she applied for U.S. citizenship in 2012, she falsely denied ever having served in a detention facility or in any situation involving the detention of others. She also denied having committed crimes for which she had not been arrested, even though her actions constituted inflicting serious bodily harm under the criminal laws of the former Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia.
The deception did not end with the written paperwork. During her in-person interview with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer, she was placed under oath and required to answer honestly, yet she again lied about her past service and criminal conduct. Federal prosecutors argue that these false statements allowed her to fraudulently secure U.S. citizenship that she would not have otherwise qualified for.
Tomanic has pleaded guilty to one count of procuring citizenship contrary to law, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced on February 3, 2026. The prosecution is being handled by Trial Attorney Elizabeth Nielsen of the Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angel Krull and Anastasia King, with support from department historians and the Office of International Affairs.
As the case moves forward, it underscores the government’s continued effort to identify individuals who concealed wartime crimes or human rights abuses during the naturalization process, ensuring that U.S. citizenship is granted only to those who meet the legal standards of honesty and eligibility.
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