A West Virginia woman who spent years living as a naturalized U.S. citizen will now trade her freedom for a prison cell after federal officials uncovered her hidden history as a soldier linked to wartime atrocities. Nada Radovan Tomanić, 53, was sentenced yesterday to 30 months behind bars for naturalization fraud, ending a decade-long deception that allowed her to hide a violent past in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Court documents reveal that during the 1990s, Tomanić served with the Zulfikar Special Unit of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
While the region was engulfed in armed conflict, Tomanić and her fellow soldiers engaged in the severe physical and psychological abuse of Bosnian Serb civilian prisoners. Prosecutors described her actions as “inhuman treatment” and torture, noting that her conduct amounted to war crimes.
The fallout stems from a 2012 application for U.S. citizenship where Tomanić intentionally scrubbed her history. In her paperwork, she denied ever serving in a detention facility or being involved in the detention of others.
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She also claimed she had never committed a crime for which she hadn’t been arrested—specifically neglecting to mention the serious bodily harm she inflicted under the laws of the former Yugoslavia. Even when placed under oath during a face-to-face interview with immigration officers, she doubled down on the lies to secure her status.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division stated that Tomanić “tortured and abused prisoners in Bosnia and then lied to U.S. immigration authorities.” Duva emphasized that human rights violators are not welcome in the United States, crediting the courage of victims and the diligence of investigators for finally holding her accountable.
U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan echoed this, noting that “there is no statute of limitations for human decency” and praising the international cooperation that allowed the case to move forward despite the decades that have passed since the conflict.
The investigation was a massive undertaking involving the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, and authorities from Bosnia, Serbia, and the United Nations. P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New Haven Field Office, noted that the probe eventually brought Tomanić’s “violent history of targeting people based on their ethnicity and religion” to light.
Tomanić pleaded guilty on November 10, 2025, to one count of procuring citizenship contrary to law. Federal authorities are continuing to urge anyone with information regarding human rights violators living in the U.S. to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI or through their online tip portal.
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