WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Cameron James Wagenius, 22, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for cybercrime and extortion offenses committed while serving in the Army.
- The hacking group targeted at least 10 organizations and attempted to extort victims for more than $1 million.
- Wagenius pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, computer related extortion and aggravated identity theft.
- He was also ordered to pay $294,978 in restitution.
A former Fort Hood soldier was sentenced to 70 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a cybercrime and extortion campaign that unfolded while he served on active duty.
Cameron James Wagenius, 22, received the sentence Friday for hacking telecommunications companies and participating in schemes involving stolen data. He had pleaded guilty in July 2025 to three federal charges.
According to the Justice Department, Wagenius participated in a group that conspired to hack and defraud at least 10 organizations between April 2023 and December 2024. The targets included telecommunications companies in the United States and abroad.
Wagenius operated online under the alias “kiberphant0m” and helped develop a hacking tool used in the campaign. The group gained access to data that included phone call logs.
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In November 2024, Wagenius published two online posts that “disclosed stolen confidential non-content call detail records belonging to a government official and family members of another former official and threatened to release additional confidential records unless paid a ransom,” according to officials.
The group moved stolen information through the Telegram messaging application. Wagenius and the other plotters attempted to extort people for more than $1 million, while some of the stolen data was successfully sold, officials said.
Image Credit: DoW
The activity stretched across more than a year and a half while Wagenius was serving in the Army. He held the rank of private first class and was stationed at Fort Hood, which was known at the time as Fort Cavazos.
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Wagenius joined the Army in 2022 and worked as a signal support systems specialist, according to previous reporting by Stars & Stripes. He was removed from the Army during the period between his arrest and guilty plea.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division sharply criticized Wagenius for using his time in uniform to carry out the cybercrime campaign.
“Cameron Wagenius spent more than a year and a half betraying the trust placed in him as an active duty soldier by carrying out a sweeping cybercrime campaign,” Duva said in a statement.
Wagenius was arrested on Dec. 20, 2024, while stationed at Fort Hood in Texas. The arrest came after his November posts disclosed stolen records and threatened the release of additional confidential information unless a ransom was paid.
In July 2025, Wagenius pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, extortion in relation to computer fraud and aggravated identity theft. Those charges covered the hacking, fraud, extortion and misuse of stolen identifying information described by federal officials.
Image Credit: DoW
Brett Leatherman, assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, said the FBI and Army identified and arrested Wagenius “within weeks” of his extortion threats. The timeline marked a relatively swift end to a campaign that had run from April 2023 through December 2024.
The investigation involved the Department of War Office of Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the FBI. The Army’s Criminal Investigative Division and other agencies also provided assistance.
Federal authorities tied Wagenius to a campaign involving at least 10 organizations, stolen telecommunications records and attempted extortion exceeding $1 million. The group’s use of Telegram provided a channel for moving the stolen information involved in the scheme.
Image Credit: DoW
Along with serving 70 months in federal prison, Wagenius was ordered to pay $294,978 in restitution. The sentence brings prison time and a substantial financial penalty for a former soldier accused of betraying military trust while pursuing a sweeping cybercrime operation.
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