Extradited from Ukraine to the US, Craig Lang, 34, a former US soldier from Surprise, Arizona, is expected to face multiple charges in the US, including aggravated identity theft, armed robbery, double homicide, and immigration document violations. The Middle District of Florida, the Eastern District of North Carolina, and the District of Arizona are the three federal districts in which he is accused.
Background of the Charges
Lang is accused of committing a number of international crimes, including attempts to commit violent crimes overseas, a double murder that occurred in Florida, and attempts to elude law authorities by stealing identities and using false passports. The acts in question also involve his accomplice, 27-year-old Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer of Bloomer, Wisconsin.
Middle District of Florida: Double Homicide and Armed Robbery
A couple from Brooksville, Florida, was reportedly murdered in 2018 by Lang and Zwiefelhofer, according to a superseding indictment dated December 2019. In 2017, while fighting Russian rebels with a volunteer battalion in Ukraine, the two ex-soldiers got to know one another. In an effort to fight terrorism, they later went to Kenya and tried to infiltrate South Sudan, but they were stopped and sent back to the US.
Lang and Zwiefelhofer supposedly met in Florida in April 2018 and posted guns for sale on a website named “ARMSLIST.” They allegedly killed the Brooksville couple to get the $3,000 that was supposed to be used to acquire the firearms after luring them in with the promise of a deal. Their plan was to use the pilfered money to pay for their trip to Venezuela so they could fight the government there.
The two men are accused of numerous offenses, such as breaking the Neutrality Act, plotting to murder, abduct, or maim people abroad, and robbing banks in order to obstruct trade. They could serve a life sentence in jail if found guilty. Zwiefelhofer is awaiting punishment in August after being found guilty on all counts in March.
Craig Lang’s Identity Theft and Passport Fraud
In the Eastern District of North Carolina, Craig Lang and his accomplices are accused of utilizing forged identity documents as part of a plot to avoid detection in September 2018. Using the name of fellow conspirator Dameon Shae Adcock—who received payment in cash, weapons, and a military smoke grenade—Lang filed an application for a U.S. passport. Using these forged passports, Craig Lang, Matthew Scott McCloud, and Jordan Dean Miller intended to visit Ukraine. Craig Lang may receive a term of upto 25 years in prison if found guilty of the charges of conspiracy to commit passport fraud, aggravated identity theft, and false representation of a social security number. Adcock, McCloud, and Miller entered guilty pleas and were given different terms.
District of Arizona: Misuse of Passport
Craig Lang is charged with one count of misuse of a passport with the intent to apply for a Mexican visa, violating visa requirements. Should he be convicted, he will be on his way to serving a maximum prison term of 10 years for this single offense. This is just a part of the whole range of charges against Craig Lang, encompassing double homicide and armed robbery, among other charges, to complete his litany of legal woes in various jurisdictions.
Extradition and Legal Proceedings
Once the European Court of Human Rights denied his claim to bar his extradition, Craig Lang was extradited back to the United States to face serious charges here. U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley for the Eastern District of North Carolina, and U.S. Attorney Gary M. Restaino for the District of Arizona together made the announcement in regard to Lang’s extradition. The FBI worked in tandem with Ukrainian authorities and other international law enforcement agencies. This press release describes the wide international cooperation in returning Lang to the U.S. to face justice.
Craig Lang’s purported crimes crossed multiple states and countries, demonstrating blatant disrespect for the sanctity of human life and legal boundaries. From a Florida double homicide to passport fraud in North Carolina and misuse of a passport in Arizona, the case paints a sordid picture of a complex international crime spree. Law enforcement agencies from both domestic and international entities went to great lengths to track Lang down, arrest him, and extradite him to be tried in an exceptional case of tenacity. Lang, meanwhile, remains presumed innocent of these allegations unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
