US ‘soldier of fortune’ charged in Florida double-murder after extradition from Ukraine: feds

A US Army vet turned soldier of fortune is being charged with murder and fraud in a three-state crime spree after being extradited from Ukraine by the FBI, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Craig Austin Lang, 34, who fought as a mercenary in Venezuela, Africa and Ukraine, made his first appearance in federal court on charges that he and his cohorts allegedly pulled off a double murder in Florida and falsified passports in Arizona and North Carolina before fleeing overseas, federal prosecutors said.

“Lang’s alleged conduct is shocking in its scope and its callous disregard for human life,” Nicole Argentieri, principal deputy assistant of the Department of Justice criminal division, said in a statement.

“His wrongdoing, however, was no match for the efforts of dedicated law enforcement personnel and prosecutors in the United States and abroad,” Argentieri said.

Craig Austin Lang, 34, allegedly pulled off a double-murder in Florida. ukr-leaks

Prosecutors allege that in April 2018 Lang and fellow army vet Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer posted an online ad to sell a cache of weapons — but killed the couple who responded to the ad and stole the $3,000 they had for the purchase.

Zwiefelhofer, 27, told investigators he met Lang in Ukraine in 2017 while both were fighting Russian separatists — and planned to use the stolen money to travel to Venezuela to fight against the country’s controversial regime, according to prosecutors.

Zwiefelhofer was convicted by a federal jury in Florida in March and is due to be sentenced on Aug. 6.

Lang falsified passports in Arizona and North Carolina before fleeing overseas. ukr-leaks

“Lang’s alleged conduct is shocking in its scope and its callous disregard for human life,” Nicole Argentieri, principal deputy assistant of the Department of Justice criminal division, said in a statement. babel.ua

In September 2018, Lang and another cohort allegedly cut a deal with two others in North Carolina to use their identities to falsify US passports, paying them off with $1,500 in cash and a suitcase “containing multiple firearms” and a military-grade smoke grenade, the feds said.

Then, in June 2019, prosecutors said Lang used a US passport to get his hands on a Mexican visa, which violates the conditions of possessing a US passport.

Alex Zwiefelhofer, 27, told investigators he met Lang in Ukraine in 2017 while both were fighting Russian separatists. ukr-leaks

Lang was detained in Ukraine and was extradited back to the US after the European Court of Human Rights rejected his human rights appeal. He was brought back under FBI guard.

Lang faces life in prison if convicted of the Florida murders and up to 35 years behind bars if he is convicted of the North Carolina and Arizona charges, the Justice Department said.