Craig Austin Lang, a 34-year-old US Army veteran turned foreign volunteer fighter, has been extradited from Ukraine to the United States to face charges related to a 2018 double homicide and armed robbery in Florida. Lang is accused of killing Serafin and Deana Lorenzo and robbing them to fund a planned trip to Venezuela to join the anti-government fight there. He will appear in a Florida court on Monday.
Lang’s extradition marks the end of a decade-long odyssey that began with his desertion from the US Army and included stints as a volunteer fighter against Russian separatists in Ukraine and al-Shabab terrorists in East Africa. Since 2015, Lang had intermittently lived and fought in Ukraine and has been under threat of extradition for at least the past five years.
The US Department of Justice described Lang’s actions as an “international crime spree,” highlighting his efforts to evade capture by trading firearms and cash for a passport under an assumed name. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri condemned Lang’s alleged conduct as showing a “callous disregard for human life” and praised the efforts of law enforcement in bringing him to justice.
Lang’s extradition was facilitated after the European Court of Human Rights rejected his claim to avoid being sent back to the US. He faces multiple charges in Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona, including conspiracy to commit passport fraud, aggravated identity theft, and misuse of a passport.
The charges in Florida stem from an alleged scheme with his accomplice, Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer, to rob the Lorenzos, who had responded to an online ad to purchase firearms. The pair reportedly killed the couple during the robbery and stole $3,000 to finance their travel plans to Venezuela. Zwiefelhofer was arrested in 2018 and convicted in March 2023 of related charges. He is awaiting sentencing and faces a potential life sentence.
Lang’s military background includes service as an infantryman from 2008 to 2014, with deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. Following his discharge, Lang struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other personal issues, which culminated in his desertion from the Army in 2013.
In 2015, Lang joined the Right Sector, a Ukrainian volunteer militia, to fight Russian-controlled forces in the Donetsk region. His activities and affiliations have raised concerns due to the extremist views held by some members of the group. Despite this, Lang claimed he joined because of the group’s active frontline engagements.
Lang’s legal troubles also include charges of passport fraud in North Carolina, where he allegedly attempted to obtain a passport under a false identity, and misuse of a passport in Arizona, where he was accused of using a fraudulent passport to secure a Mexican visa. He faces significant prison time if convicted on these charges.
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