Former U.S. Soldier Extradited From Ukraine For Florida Double Murder

Former U.S. soldier Craig Austin Lang, 34, allegedly killed a couple in Florida and went on an international crime spree under a false identity passport. Credit: Facebook

FORT MYERS, Florida - A former U.S. soldier turned soldier of fortune appeared in Fort Myers, Florida, on Monday following his extradition from Ukraine to the United States to face numerous charges in three federal districts relating to double homicide in Florida, armed robbery, false statements in a passport application, aggravated identity theft, and misuse of a passport in violation of conditions and restrictions, among other charges.

“As alleged in the indictments, Craig Austin Lang went on an international crime spree that included a double murder in Florida, attempts to travel internationally to engage in other acts of violence outside the United States, and a plot to evade law enforcement detection by trading guns, a grenade, and cash to use another person’s identifying information to apply for a U.S. passport under an assumed name,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. 

According to the indictment returned in the Middle District of Florida in December 2019 and other court documents, Lang, 34, and a co-defendant, Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer, 27, of Bloomer, Wisconsin, allegedly murdered a couple from Brooksville, Florida, in 2018.

In 2017, Lang and Zwiefelhofer, both former soldiers in the U.S. Army, met in Ukraine, where Zwiefelhofer claimed they were both members of a volunteer battalion fighting Russian separatists. 

The pair allegedly also traveled to Kenya, where Zwiefelhofer claimed they intended to fight against terrorists, before attempting to enter South Sudan. They were allegedly detained by authorities in South Sudan and deported back to the United States, where they met up in Florida in April 2018.

The indictment alleges that the Brooksville couple planned to purchase firearms that Lang and Zwiefelhofer had listed for sale on a website called “ARMSLIST.” 

Lang and Zwiefelhofer allegedly killed the couple in the course of an armed robbery to steal the $3,000 that the couple intended to use to buy the firearms. Lang and Zwiefelhofer allegedly robbed the victims to pay for travel to Venezuela, where the defendants planned to fight the Venezuelan regime. 

Lang and his co-conspirators allegedly took various actions in September 2018 to evade law enforcement detection and minimize scrutiny when travelling internationally. 

They allegedly devised a plan to provide two co-conspirators’ identity documents to Lang and a fourth co-conspirator, Matthew Scott McCloud, for the purpose of applying for U.S. passports under assumed names. 

While in North Carolina, Lang allegedly submitted a U.S. passport application in the assumed name of one of his co-conspirators, Dameon Shae Adcock. 

Approximately two days later, Lang allegedly gave Adcock a suitcase containing multiple firearms, a military smoke grenade, and approximately $1,500 in cash as payment for use of Adcock’s personal information. 

Several days later, Lang and McCloud, who had applied for a U.S. passport using the identity of co-conspirator Jordan Dean Miller, allegedly acquired airline tickets to travel from Georgia to New York and then on to Ukraine.

Lang and Zwiefelhofer are charged with violating the Neutrality Act, conspiracy to kill, kidnap, or maim persons in a foreign country, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, and conspiracy to discharge a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, as well as interference with commerce by robbery and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing death. If convicted on all counts, Lang and Zwiefelhofer face a maximum penalty of life in prison. 

On March 8, a federal jury convicted Zwiefelhofer on all of the above charges. Zwiefelhofer is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 6.