MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A naturalized citizen has been arrested in Morgantown after federal officials allege false statements were used to meet citizenship requirements.
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigators learned Nada Radovan Tomanic, 51, is believed to have served in the Zulfikar Special Unit of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War in the 1990s. The Serbs targeted Bosnian Muslim and Croatian civilians in areas under their control, in what has become known as “ethnic cleansing.”
DOJ investigators said they believe Tomanic participated in the physical and mental abuse of Bosnian Serb prisoners, on the basis of their ethnicity while serving in the Zulfikar Special Unit.
Tomanic falsely claimed she had not persecuted anyone because of their religion, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion and had never committed a crime for which she had not been arrested while obtaining her citizenship.
“Nada Tomanic has enjoyed the privileges of U.S. citizenship for more than 10 years – privileges she allegedly obtained by lying to cover up human rights abuses she committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said. “The Justice Department will vigorously enforce our nation’s immigration laws to ensure that the United States does not serve as a safe haven for persecutors.”
Tomanic is charged with two counts of unlawful procurement of naturalization. If convicted, the DOJ said Tomanic faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count and the automatic revocation of her U.S. citizenship.