A federal judge has handed down a life sentence—plus another consecutive life term—to Craig Austin Lang, the 35-year-old former Ukraine fighter convicted of murdering a Florida couple to finance a private paramilitary expedition to South America.
U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell delivered the sentence on Tuesday following Lang’s September conviction on a litany of charges, including conspiracy to commit robbery, discharging a firearm resulting in death, and a rare violation of the Neutrality Act.
The crime dates back to April 10, 2018, when authorities found the bodies of Serafin “Danny” Lorenzo Jr. and Deana Lorenzo in Estero, Florida.
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The couple had traveled from Brooksville, expecting to buy firearms listed on the website Armslist. Instead, investigators determined they were ambushed. Lang and an accomplice shot the victims multiple times in the head and body, stealing the $3,000 cash the couple brought for the transaction.
According to trial testimony, the robbery wasn’t just for personal enrichment; it was a fundraising effort for a larger, violent plan. Having previously fought in Ukraine, Lang intended to use the stolen cash to travel to Venezuela and fight against the government there.
Lang was indicted in late 2019 but spent years in Ukraine before his extradition to the U.S. in 2024. In addition to prison time, the court ordered him to pay $10,886 in restitution to the victims’ families.
His co-defendant, Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer, was convicted separately in 2024 and is also serving two consecutive life sentences.
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