United States of America v. Miran Kostic

Boise, Idaho, criminal defense lawyer represents the Defendant charged with making material false statements and attempted naturalization fraud.

Digested by Kent Morlan

Miran Kostic, 66, of Boise, Idaho, was a high-level official in the so-called Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia (APZB). In that role, he pistol-whipped prisoners, beat them with wooden clubs, stakes, and his fists, and kicked them, causing them to lose consciousness. He forced prisoners to beat each other, and he also ordered other members of the APZB to beat prisoners. In his applications to become a U.S. citizen and in interviews with the FBI and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), he repeatedly lied about the abuse he participated in and ordered, and failed to disclose charges filed against him in Bosnia and Herzegovina for war crimes, among other lies.

Kostic is charged with attempted naturalization fraud and making material false statements to law enforcement agents. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each charge of attempted naturalization fraud, and five years in prison for the false statements charge.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.