A former U.S. Army soldier who once traveled overseas to fight in Ukraine has now reportedly been sentenced to two life terms in federal prison for brutally murdering a Florida couple during a robbery meant to bankroll his plans to fight against the Venezuelan government, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Craig Austin Lang, 35, received the sentence after being convicted in September on a slate of federal charges, including robbery and conspiracy to kill people in a foreign country. Lang had previously been extradited from Ukraine, where he had volunteered to fight against Russian-backed separatists before returning to the United States and embarking on a violent criminal path.
Federal prosecutors said Lang’s crimes displayed a shocking disregard for human life. Nicole Argentieri, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s criminal division, previously described Lang’s actions as “shocking in their scope” and marked by “callous disregard for human life.”
The case centers on the April 2018 killing of Serafin “Danny” Lorenzo Jr. and his wife, Deana Lorenzo. The couple traveled from Brooksville to Estero, Florida, believing they were meeting sellers to purchase firearms they had seen advertised on Armslist, an online marketplace. Instead, prosecutors said, the meeting was a deadly trap.
According to court records, the Lorenzos brought $3,000 with them to the meeting. Lang and another former U.S. soldier, Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer, ambushed the couple in a parking lot and shot them multiple times. Authorities said the robbery and murders were carried out to fund Lang’s and Zwiefelhofer’s plans to travel to Venezuela, where they intended to join a paramilitary group and fight the government of Nicolás Maduro.
Lang’s background reveals a troubling trajectory. He was dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 2014. Two years later, he joined the far-right Ukrainian nationalist group known as Right Sector, according to The Washington Post. Lang and Zwiefelhofer had previously fought in Ukraine and were actively seeking other foreign conflicts to join, prosecutors said.
Zwiefelhofer was convicted in 2024 for his role in the murders and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison, matching the punishment Lang has now received. Together, the sentences ensure that both men will spend the rest of their lives behind bars for what authorities described as a cold-blooded crime motivated by extremist ambitions and greed.
The case underscores the dangers posed when radical ideology, foreign conflicts, and criminal behavior intersect. Federal officials emphasized that the justice system acted decisively to hold the perpetrators accountable and to deliver justice for the victims and their families.
With the sentencing now complete, the Justice Department closed one of the more disturbing cases involving Americans drawn into overseas conflicts who then turned to violence at home. Prosecutors said the life sentences reflect the severity of the crimes and serve as a warning that those who plot murder to fund extremist causes will face the harshest penalties under the law.
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